Mal Foi, Bonne Foi
by Aubrie1234
Summary: Alex Malfoy is not a normal son. Growling up as a Malfoy kinda explains that as a whole, but not like Alex. Alex is different in more ways than one but it's only as he grows up that slowly, the truth comes out. And the truth isn't always pretty. At least he helps change a few things along the way, right?
1. Troubled Beginnings (Up to Year 1)

**Dear Readers,**

**First, it has been a LONG time since I've read the books and I'm only recently rewatching the movies, so if someone seems OOC, I'm sorry and will try to fix it. Most of this comes from the Harry Potter Wiki to help fill in the gaps.**

**So, originally there was just going to be one chapter for the prologue but then it got so big I've had to split the prologue into chapters and make it the first half of the story, basically recounting what happened if Alex was Draco's brother and they lived together, and then the second half is the actual story. As for the title, both phrases are from French and mean this, as translated by Google:**

**Mal Foi = Bad Faith**  
**Bonne Foi = Good Faith**

* * *

**1981:**

It was a cold, dark night, not a nice night to go out and do something, whether it be evil or good. Narcissa was in the nursery, warming her hands with the help of a small fire as the night wore on. Her son slept soundly in his crib, despite the howling wind and freezing night. It also helped that his mother had cast a charm on the blanket to keep it just the right temperature for Draco, he wouldn't be too cold or warm (who could get warm in this weather?). Lucius was out with the Dark Lord, trying to break the prophecy, and Narcissa could only hope for her husband's safety. She loved him, she really did, but she had her son's life in mind, how it would affect him if he grew up without his father.

It was at that moment that Narcissa stiffened, the alarm charm over Malfoy Manor wavering slightly as _something_ entered the premises. The charm warned her of the intruder, having not done so otherwise if she had known the person, and so she moved to the window to get a look at whoever had entered. Much to her alarm, not one person had entered, but _four_, causing her to tighten her grip on her wand. She was a good witch, but she couldn't take them all on by herself, especially with Draco near. He was the more vulnerable of the two of them and she didn't want to risk his safety. Her only choice was to apparate, but before she could, a commotion began outside. She watched in amazement as bangs and flashes cut through the air, the four men being cut down before her eyes as other people entered the area, closing in on the area where the men had fallen. Draco began to sniffle and whine at the loud noise and Narcissa had to calm him back to sleep. The protection spell over the manor prevented it from being hurt by most weapons and spells, so she didn't have to worry about losing the home, because she was sure those were Muggles and they had been fighting each other with their own weapons, but she wished there was a silencing charm over the nursery. After checking the fallen men, the bigger group then began to fan out around the area and Narcissa worried that they would try to enter the manor, even though she knew they couldn't really see it. The manor had been enchanted to look like a big brick wall to muggles, so that they wouldn't try to go inside, but she still worried. And after many many minutes, eventually the large group moved off. Sighing in relief, she moved away, but then paused as she considered why the group had been looking around, even after killing the four men. Had the fleeing group lost something that belonged to the second in the illusion of the manor? If so, she wondered what it was. Checking on Draco one last time to make sure he was okay, she went downstairs and left the manor to investigate.

She gave a sound of disgust when she found that the second group had left the bodies behind, but ignored it in favor of searching the ground around the manor, which was also under the illusion. That's where she found the basket, baby and all. It had dirty blond hair and big brown eyes and couldn't have been too much older than Draco, certainly not by a year, and she was almost sure it was a boy. He giggled at the sight of her but his cheeks were flushed from the cold, he must have been freezing. But what was so important about a single baby that people were willing to kill for it? Of course, that's exactly what the Dark Lord and Lucius were doing at that moment, but this was a different case. This was a muggle baby, there was nothing about a muggle baby that was special unless he was the son of an important muggle, but why? Well, she couldn't just let the babe freeze, so Narcissa took the basket into her arms and began to move inside when another thing happened.

"H-hold it!" Her head shot up when she found a muggle pointing the small barrel of something at her and she realized with dread that she had accidentally stepped outside the illusion. With her hands full of the basket, she had no way to defend herself, leaving her at the mercy of the muggle, who seemed to have the same outfit as the downed men.

"I don't know how you suddenly came out of that wall, but I want you to give me that baby right now." hissed the man. Narcissa may have not minded killing, but she didn't like the death of a child to be on her head. She wanted to play the part of a frightened woman (which she certainly was in this situation) but from the way the man looked, she didn't think he would be nice to her if she did, so she stayed calm.

"Why do you want him?" she asked, "Why is he so important to you?"

"You have no _idea_ how important he is. Now, hand him over." Narcissa couldn't let him take the child now, so she prepared to run if she could, when the door to Malfoy Manor banged open.

"_Avada Kedavra_!" A flash of green light flew past her and hit the man, killing him instantly, and she didn't need to look back to see who had saved her.

"Are you alright?" asked Lucius, sounding out of breath as he rushed to her side to make sure she was okay.

"I'm fine." she assured and they made their way inside the building. They would get rid of the bodies later, both of them seemed shaken up at the moment.

"What happened?" Narcissa shook her head, bringing the baby upstairs with her to the nursery, Lucius following.

"There were two groups of Muggles, they just appeared and fought each other and killed one of the groups. The second searched around after the first was dead and I was curious what they were looking for when they moved away and I found this." She showed him the baby, "I didn't realize I'd stepped out of the illusionment charm until he threatened me. Thank you for saving me, Lucius."

"And Draco?"

"He woke up once when the Muggles fought, but he's back to sleep." Upon arriving in the cozy room, Narcissa put the basket down and went over to check Draco again. He was still sleeping soundly, "How did the mission go?"

"Not well at all, I'm afraid." Lucius's voice, though he sounded calm, was burning with rage as he crouched to examine the new child, "There was an explosion and it turns out both Potter parents are dead, but their son… He somehow survived." This caused Narcissa to turn to face him in shock.

"_Survived_?! But the Killing Curse-!"

"I know, yet he survived somehow." Lucius spotted something tucked into the side of the basket and took it out, finding it the be a letter hastily slipped in, as it was slightly crumpled. He soundlessly stood and opened it, beginning to read. Narcissa knew better than to bother her husband when he was reading, so she picked up the unnamed child and held him in her arms, trying to get him warmer.

'_Lady Rothman,_

'_The mission was a success. Alexander now in Scorpia's care. Sending him to you.'_

"Alexander..." mused Lucius, "What an interesting name for a _Muggle_..." He spat the word with no mercy.

"Many muggles are named Alexander, you know that, they just tend to have their names shortened to Alex." Narcissa pointed out, "But Lucius-"

"No. We are not keeping a muggle baby. I know your stance on blood purity, why are you even suggesting it?"

"I may be a pure-blood, but I am a mother first." Narcissa looked down at Alex, "Only for a few years, Lucius. Then we may get rid of him any way you want." Lucius was quiet for a few moments, then sighed.

"Fine." he rubbed his forehead, "We get rid of him before he turns seven, though, just in case he turns out to be a _mudblood_. That would be worse than having a muggle in our family."

"Of course." She went over to her husband, "As it is, both of us will have to take care of him the same way we do to Draco."

"That doesn't mean we have to like it, though. We can take care of him, but that doesn't mean we have to love him." Lucius pointed out. It was also at that moment that Alex gave a small giggle and reached up, grabbing the wizard's long hair. Lucius winced at the pulling and gave Narcissa an annoyed look, even as she looked amused at the turn of events. She gently got Alex to let go before putting him with Draco, as there was no other crib for him and Draco's was so large. She knew it was a gamble, as neither of them knew how Alex or Draco would react to the other, but luckily, it was all fine. Alex even snuggled under the blanket with the sleeping Draco and fell asleep beside the other blond babe, causing both parents to smile. Lucius managed to pull his wife away from the cute scene and they moved out of the nursery, where they then debated on all the specifics they would have to do for Alex to 'become' their son. They had no idea how much of a change this would be, if they could have seen their futures before this.

* * *

**1984:**

As they grew up together, Alex and Draco grew close, despite how differently they were raised. While Draco was doted on and loved, Alex wasn't seen as much more than a housekeeper like Dobby, and yet the two boys still considered themselves 'brothers,' no matter how hard Lucius and Narcissa tried to make them see otherwise. Alex also proved to be a lot of trouble at times, even though he had no magic, and lovingly annoyed the Malfoys to no end. He also managed to bring Muggle things into the manor somehow, like a 'soccer ball,' or a 'record player' and Lucius and Narcissa seriously wondered how he managed to get hold of these things in the first place.

It was when the boys were four that the Malfoys decided to do something about Alex, but Draco didn't want to go anywhere without his brother, so Lucius and Narcissa tried to come up with ways for Draco to leave the boy alone. But like his brother, Draco was _persistent_.

"But can't I have candy too?" "You never let him play with me, I wanna play with him today!" "He promised to show me his circle-player-thing and I don't know that you know how to use it."

Draco may have been persistent, but much to their astonishment, Lucius and Narcissa also found themselves caring about the boy they had taken in, and knew they couldn't kill him themselves. So, they tried to take him away from Draco long enough to let him get killed by one of their Death Eater friends or let Fenrir curse him, but it was still proving to be a problem, even after they finally managed to get him alone. Alex kept slipping away back to his brother or somewhere else, even when they tried to lock all the doors and windows in the room.

"I swear that boy either knows secret passages in this place that we don't, or he's already showing magical ability." said Lucius after they lost Alex a fifth time.

"He could possibly be doing both." Narcissa suggested, "And yet-"

"No." Lucius protested, "We promised ourselves to never say it-"

"But we both know we feel for Alex." She pointed out, "We can't ignore this."

"Yes we can. As soon as Alex is with someone else we won't care about him anymore." And that was that. But, as Lucius had suspected, there were passages in the manor that neither he nor Narcissa knew about, and Alex knew how to use them well. He knew almost every nook and cranny of the house by this time and was putting it to good use, sneaking away from his parents. Alex thought of it as a fun game but he was curious about why his parents were showing him so much attention now. Did they change their minds on liking him? He hoped so. It was at that moment he came to the end of the dark hallway and opened the secret door into the living room, near his brother, and so he joined the other in playing with some Dancing Doxies, where the passage closed behind him.

"You got away again?" asked Draco, "How'd you do it?"

"I dunno, but it's fun!" Alex grabbed his toy hippogriff, which he had named Jack for a reason only known to him, and pretended that Jack was beating up the Doxies. It was another of the objects he had somehow managed to smuggle into the house, but he had gained such an attachment to it that the Malfoys couldn't force him to part with it, and so he kept it with him near-constantly when he was home. Alex never liked to take Jack on trips because he was afraid that Jack would get 'hurt' or something, and so the toy hippogriff was carefully handled, quite the opposite to right now.

"Caw caw, evil Dixies! Fear the great Jack the Hippiegriff!" Alex still had some trouble with his 'o's (with the exception of some words), so he substituted them with 'i's.

"What did they ever do to you?" Draco moved some of the Doxies away from the stuffed creature.

"They're Dixies!" Alex said, as if that explained everything. It was at that moment Narcissa and Lucius came into the room, having tired themselves out looking for Alex.

"There you are!" exclaimed Narcissa as she picked up Alex, who still held his toy, "How did you get all the way back here?"

"I'm special!" Alex smiled and his sweetness caused Narcissa to smile as well.

"Oh Alex..."

* * *

**1987:**

Alex laid on his bed in the opposite way, his stomach down and his head on the footboard end, his feet swinging in the air. His arms were crossed, propping his head up as he stared through his window. It was his seventh birthday, which he shared with Draco, but it wasn't really all that happy. Draco got to go out and celebrate while Alex had to stay home, the only company being Dobby. None of his family was nice to the house-elf except for him and that was mainly because Alex was always a little discarded, and so he ended up bonding a little with Dobby.

"Is Master Alex upset?" Speaking of the house-elf, he was in the room with the disappointed Alex.

"A little, yes." the boy agreed, "I mean, Draco is my brother and I love him, but he always gets _everything_. I either get things he shares with me, things I find, or nothing. It's just not _fair_ sometimes!" Alex buried his face in his arms and said in a muffle, "Don't Mum and Dad love me?" Dobby's ears drooped, understanding a little of the pain Alex was feeling.

"Dobby thinks they do, Master Alex." said the house-elf. The boy raised his head to look at Dobby, his eyes a little red from beginning to cry.

"Thanks, Dobby." he sniffed.

"Is there nothing Master Alex can do to be cheered up?" Alex thought for a moment, then sat up.

"Actually," he began to smile, "I think there's something I _can_ do! But you have to promise not to tell Mum and Dad, okay?"

"Dobby promises!" Dobby crossed his heart and smiled as Alex jumped up, grabbed his toy broomstick, and ran out into the hall for whatever mischief he had planned. It was still Dobby's job to protect Alex (as instructed by Lucius), so he followed the young Malfoy into the rest of the house. What ensued was marginal chaos, but luckily not enough to break or damage anything (with the exception of the weird vase Alex didn't like, but Dobby managed to fix that with his magic). And so Alex made his own fun with Dobby guarding him until his parents came home with Draco, and when they were alone, Alex told Draco about his antics.

"I wish I'd been there!" whined the lighter blond boy, "All I got was ice cream and a chance to see the Eiffel Tower!"

"Isn't that fun?" asked Alex.

"No. It's boring."

"I'd love to see the Eiffel Tower."

"It's just a big hunk of metal."

"Yeah, but it's still cool."

"Stays you." And so the conversation turned over to something else for the moment. But at the end of the night, when everyone was going to sleep, Alex summoned Dobby to his room.

"Yes, Master Alex?" The house-elf didn't expect the hug that suddenly appeared, but he accepted it anyway.

"Thanks for cheering me up, Dobby!" he said, "I love you, you're the bestest elf ever!"

"Dobby was happy to help, Master Alex." And Dobby truly was happy to have a friend amongst the family that abused him, it made things better.

* * *

**1991:**

Alex was glad to get out of the house, even though it was one of the few times he was allowed to do so. It was the beginning of August and the Malfoys were going out to get supplies for when Draco went to Hogwarts (after some lengthy arguing about whether he should go to there or Durmstrang, Narcissa won out). Alex, as predicted, never showed any magical ability, let alone got a letter, so he wasn't going to any school except a Muggle one, and the only reason why he was out today was because Draco was nervous and wanted his brother to be with him. And so, much to his parents' slight irritation, they agreed. Because there was so much Draco needed for Hogwarts, the family decided to split up to gather everything. Lucius would get the books, Narcissa would search for a wand (but she couldn't choose for him and the boys didn't quite understand why), and Draco and Alex would go to Madam Malkin's together. Their parents hoped they wouldn't cause trouble, but they couldn't in a clothing store, even _they _knew that, so Alex just had to sit around while Draco got fitted. He only cheered up when another boy entered the shop, black-haired, short, scrawny, and pale. Alex also noticed the scar above his eye (which seemed familiar), but didn't comment on it. In fact, he stayed quiet the whole time.

"Hogwarts, dear?" asked Madam Malkin when the boy seemed like he wanted to say something, "Got the lot here — another young man being fitted up just now, in fact." Alex observed as the boy got on a stool next to Draco and began to be fitted. Draco, of course, was the more talkative of the two brothers, so he began to speak to the boy.

"Hello," he said, "Hogwarts, too?"

"Yes."

"My father's next door buying my books and my mother's up the street looking at wands." said Draco and Alex rolled his eyes. Of course the lighter blond would try to make conversation to impress another kid. That was so like Draco, "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own." Alex snorted.

"I think I know why..." Draco gave him a glare.

"Shut up, I'm trying to make friends!" Alex stuck out his tongue and Draco went on, "Ignore my brother, he can be a pest sometimes."

"I know you are but what am I?" Alex mocked.

"_Anyway,_ have _you _got your own broom?" The boy, who had been watching the brothers argue like he was witnessing a tennis match, started before answering.

"No."

"Play Quidditch at all?"

"No." And now Alex was becoming suspicious because he was sure there had been a small amount of confusion to the other's face before he answered. Who in the Wizarding World _didn't _know what Quidditch was?

"_I _do — Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"

"No." Alex was now almost certain that the kid had been raised by Muggles.

"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been — imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

"I think Hufflepuff is nice." Alex commented.

"You'd probably be one too." Draco shot back. It was widely speculated by the two boys from their knowledge of the Four Houses that Draco, of course, would be in Slytherin, but it was a debate on whether Alex would have joined him or the friendly Hufflepuffs, since he wasn't smart enough to be a Ravenclaw or brave enough to be a Gryffindor.

"Mmm." said the boy, as if he didn't know of anything else to say. It was at that moment that the brothers caught sight of a large man in the window, causing them a small amount of surprise, as they had never seen anyone taller or bigger than their father, and yet there the man was!

"I say, look at that man!" Draco nodded to the man in the window.

"Oh, that's Hagrid." explained the boy, who seemed to be pleased with himself that he knew something the Malfoys didn't, "He works at Hogwarts." Alex gazed at the strange man, realizing the name was familiar.

"Oh, I've heard of him, he's sort of a servant, isn't he?" At that remark, Alex glared at his brother, tempted to kick over the stool he stood on. Before Alex could reprimand Draco (as he was the kinder of the two), the boy beat him to it.

"He's the gamekeeper." said the boy, frowning.

"Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of _savage _— lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."

"Draco..." Alex said in a warning tone, not wanting to get into a fight here or for his brother to keep insulting Hagrid. Alex, though growing up in a bigoted household, tended to think well of most everyone. His brother, however, was usually the opposite.

"I think he's brilliant." the boy said coldly, now glaring at Draco as well.

"_Do_ you?" Draco sneered and Alex knew he was going in for the kill, "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"

"They're dead." the boy said shortly and that caused Draco to look considerably shocked and ashamed. The brothers had suspected that Alex was adopted, being different enough from both Draco and their parents on appearance and attitude, and so the mention of not having real parents reminded Alex of why he was there himself.

"I think that's enough." he snapped to Draco as he stood, then turned to the boy, "I'm sorry for my brother, I hope you'll forgive us."

"...I'm sorry." was all Draco could manage, and he meant it. The boy, seeing how apologetic the brothers really were, softened slightly and nodded. He may not have completely forgiven them, but he was okay with them realizing they had stepped too far (though it was really all Draco's fault in that instance).

"That's you done, my dear." Madam Malkin spoke to the unknown boy and, before the Malfoys could ask for his name, he ran out of the shop and to the safety of the giant of a man. They got the feeling that wouldn't be the last time they saw him, though, certainly not for Draco.

* * *

Sometimes Draco was embarrassed with his family, especially with how his mother sent him letters and sweets _every single day_. But it was thanks to this that Draco was notified that something was wrong when he didn't get these special things for a few days, and during that time, he grew worried over the state of his family. Had something happened to them? Were his parents or his brother in danger? It wasn't until a fellow Slytherin showed him the newest edition of the _Daily Prophet_ that Draco was given his answer: There had been some sort of explosion that had destroyed half the manor, no one was hurt, and it had happened a few days ago. There was a chance that his family couldn't contact him, but he hoped they would send a letter soon to make sure he knew they were okay. As it was, he asked both his Head of House (Snape) and the Headmaster (Dumbledore) if he could go home early for the holidays to deal with this, since it was already so close to the holidays. Both agreed, but only if Draco would make up for it when he returned, and he promised, glad that he was given a chance to check on his family. Just before he left for home, an owl came with a letter from his father, who assured that things were okay and that the manor was being rebuilt (most, if not all of the damage had been restricted to the roof and the boys' rooms), but also stressing that he had to come home for 'important matters,' which Draco translated to things that he couldn't discuss in public. It was a good thing he was coming home early, then, but there was still one thing on his mind that was bothering him: What had happened to cause the explosion? He hoped he would learn the answer soon, so he made his way back home on the train (but not before sending a letter to his parents to pick him up) and met his father at the station.

"Father-"

"Everything is fine, Draco, but I'm glad you've arrived. Come, we've got much to discuss." Draco took his father's hand and, in a few queasy seconds, they had apparated back to the manor. Draco never liked apparating, but he knew it was needed in this instance. He felt even worse when he took in the state of the ancient building, half of its top blown off.

"Were we attacked?" the boy asked as they began to head inside.

"No."

"Does it have something to do with Alex?" With all the trouble his brother caused, even Draco found it hard to believe that Alex would have done something like this. And yet Lucius paused and Draco knew it was the truth, "What did he do this time?"

"Draco," Lucius began slowly, "This technically isn't your brother's fault."

"What do you mean?"

"Have you ever heard of an 'Obscurial?'"

"N-no, Father. Is that something we're supposed to learn in school?"

"Not until History of Magic, and it's not something most know about." Lucius led the boy into the living room, where Draco found his mother with Alex, who looked so very different from when Draco had left to go to school. His brother was pale and unmoving, curled up into a ball on the couch and staring at nothing, his grip on himself tight, and Narcissa was trying to coax Alex out of this position. Draco looked at his father, almost asking for permission to go over to Alex, and Lucius nodded.

"Alex?" The other boy didn't move as Draco approached, even with the questioning, he was as silent and still as a statue. Even when Draco took a seat beside the other, Alex didn't move. It was only when Draco put a hand on his shoulder that Alex turned his head to look at his brother, and Draco found that his eyes were full of tears. Even if their father said it wasn't 'technically' Alex's fault, it was obvious the other was blaming himself for it. And so Draco hugged him, even if Alex didn't hug him back for a long minute or two. It was also at that point that Alex began to cry; not vocally, but Draco could feel the tears on his shirt and Alex was shaking slightly, indicating what he held back. After a very long time, what seemed like hours and they had pulled away from the hug, Alex finally calmed down enough to speak.

"I'm sorry." he sniffed, his voice raw despite making no sound, "I didn't mean to."

"We know." Narcissa assured, giving him a kiss to the head, "We're just glad you're okay now."

"I love you, Mum and Father and Draco, I'm so sorry-"

"Shh..." Narcissa moved Alex over to her side of the couch, hugging him and whispering soothing words to him, giving him Jack to cuddle, allowing Draco to leave the room with his father to ask more questions.

"Father-"

"Draco, I want you to listen to me for the moment." Lucius spoke, crouching to his son's level so that he would understand, "An Obscurial, what I mentioned before, is a person infected with a parasite called an Obscurus. They form in magical children who repress their magical powers by many different means, destroy whatever or whomever is the cause of the Obscurial's distress, and one hasn't been seen in _many _many years, but I believe your mother and I have accidentally made your brother into one."

"Why?" Draco found this hard to understand. How could Alex be magical? And his parents hadn't done anything to make Alex this way, had they?

"I believe both of you have figured this out by now, but Alex was adopted into the family. He is a Muggle we took in because of your mother, despite how we felt about Muggles, and so we never thought he would have magical ability. He never showed any, so he himself never thought he was magical, and I believe that was what made him into an Obscurial. We realized this when he caused part of the house to be destroyed."

"But why? Alex isn't a bad person, and you didn't do anything to make him mad, did you?"

"No, Draco, we didn't. I was having a meeting with some colleagues and Alex was apparently listening in, for when we got into a confrontation over something, Alex got involved and destroyed that part of the house while trying to protect me. No one was hurt, but you can't talk about this, Draco." Lucius gave his son a stern look, "As I've said, Obscurials haven't been seen in many years, and if this gets out, I don't know what will happen to your brother."

"I promise not to say a word." And Draco meant it, "But Father, is there a way to cure Alex?"

"...I don't know." Lucius stood, shaking his head, "Newt Scamander was the leading authority on magical creatures a long time ago, including the Obscurus, but I don't think even he knew how to get rid of one and save the life of the child at the same time. Now come, we have a lot of things to do before you go back to school." The boy took his father's hand and knew that, no matter what, he would not only have to be nicer to Alex but do his best to protect his brother. He couldn't let Alex's Obscurus get the best of him, and so Draco would protect him from others and himself the best he could. He didn't realize how big of a job this was quite yet.


	2. Obscure Issues (Years 2-3)

**1992:**

It was a few days before they had to get Draco's things that Alex found out something that he wished he never had. It was when he was heading down to his father's den, wanting to talk to him, when he overheard someone speaking. It certainly wasn't his father, he knew that, and so he ducked into a nearby closet and searched for a secret passage to sneak into. He knew there was one from his mental map of the passages in the manor that would allow him to know what was going on in the den and he was curious who was speaking to his father. Finding the knot in the wall, he pressed it and a passage opened before him. It was too small for him to walk in and so he crawled, listening for what was going on. Spotting a tiny hole in the wall, he peeked through as he listened.

"...and that's what I'm going to do." Lucius was talking to someone standing in the corner that Alex couldn't see well. His father was sitting in a chair with a black book in his lap.

"You're certain it will work?"

"Perhaps." Lucius rolled the book in his hands, "The Dark Lord gave this to me and it's unnaturally charmed. After the failure of last year, it may be the only way to return him to power."

"You told me it somehow has his memory in it?"

"From what I've figured out, yes. If he can grow in power enough, he won't be just a memory anymore and we will have Lord Voldemort back."

"Good luck, then." The man gave him a nod before turning away and disappearing. Alex blinked, then ducked through the passage, his mind running over what he'd just seen. He went straight to his room through another passage, appearing under the bed through a trapdoor. When he was out and on top of his bed, he called for Dobby. The house elf was in his room in seconds.

"Yes, Master Alex?"

"Dobby, I need you to do me a favor."

"Favor, Master Alex?" The blond boy nodded.

"I need you to warn Harry Potter that something terrible is going to go down at Hogwarts. You heard what happened in the den, right?" Slowly, Dobby nodded, hesitant, "Tell Harry everything you know, make sure he knows that Hogwarts is dangerous."

"But why him, sir? Why Harry Potter?"

"He defeated Voldemort last year, he can do it again. Now go, before Dad knows you're gone!" Dobby gave a quick nod and disappeared with a snap of his fingers. Alex could only sit in silence and wonder if he'd made the right call, sending Dobby to warn Harry.

* * *

Even though he still had his 'ailment,' Alex was allowed to join his brother and father to Diagon Alley, helping them find Draco's stuff for the year. He was keeping a close eye on his father, wondering when and who Lucius would pass the book to. He wasn't able to stay with him, however, as Lucius sent them to Flourish and Blotts after their stop in Knockturn Alley, going off to do something alone. Alex wanted to go with him but knew his father's word was law and so joined Draco, standing upstairs as the store was filled by fans of Gilderoy Lockhart.

"So he's your new DADA teacher?"

"Yeah, but not for long." Draco said, the two of them looking down over the bannister, "You know how I told you about the 'curse' on the DADA position? I doubt he'll last the year."

"You don't know that."

"Wanna bet?" Alex shook his head.

"I know better than that."

"You're just a chicken!" Draco prodded. Alex rolled his eyes, then spotted someone coming in through the door.

"Hey, isn't that Potter and Granger?" Draco followed his gaze and frowned at the sight of the Gryffindors.

"That's them alright, along with most of the Weasleys." Alex was a little surprised that he'd managed to get it right. He'd only met Harry once and had heard from Draco about Hermione and the Weasley clan as a whole. At least he knew how they looked now.

"Don't be so mean." Alex said, giving Draco a look, "What have they ever done to you?"

"Granger's a mudblood and the Weasleys love Muggles. If Potter hadn't met them, he'd probably be on our side." Alex jabbed him in the side, "Ow!"

"Be nice!" Draco gave his brother a dark look as he rubbed his side.

"What is with you and trying to get me to be nice? Can't I be mean once in a while?"

"You're mean to everyone." Alex pointed out, "If you ever want friends, be nice."

"I've got Crabbe and Goyle!"

"They're your lackeys, not your friends." Alex lowered his eyes down to see how Harry managed to get away from Lockhart, "I'm your only friend, and that's kinda sad."

"No you're not! Just watch!" With that, Draco went downstairs to confront the group. Alex watched as he did so and flinched when his father entered the shop. Alex was still upstairs but he managed to catch the sleight of hand Lucius made as he slipped the diary in with the other book to the Weasley girl. He was unable to do anything to stop it or even warn the group, knowing his existence was supposed to be a secret, only going downstairs after Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys left.

"There you are." Lucius gave Alex a nod, "Ready to go, boys?"

"Yes sir." Alex and Draco followed him out.

"So?" Draco dropped his voice to a whisper, "I wasn't as mean."

"No, you were worse." Draco flinched at the disappointment in Alex's voice. They were both silent for a moment.

"...I'm sorry." the platinum blond said, gently, softly, "I'm not trying to make excuses, but you know how we were raised. It's just in my nature to be mean."

"You're not when I'm around." Alex pointed out again, "Am I like your morality pet or something?" Draco gave a small snort.

"Something wrong, boys?"

"No sir." Lucius stared at them for a moment before moving on.

"Maybe." Draco said to Alex and the younger brother smiled.

"Maybe I should be around you more often, then."

"Don't get your hopes up." Alex's lips twitched but he didn't drop the smile. He knew it was in jest but it also felt like a jab to how he wasn't able to go to Hogwarts or another magical school like Draco could. Maybe one day, but not now, and it hurt. Draco didn't mean anything by it, but it still hurt.

* * *

Alex joined his mother and father when they went to see Draco's first Quidditch match, getting seats in the high towers to watch the game. He'd rarely played Quidditch but knew the rules, how to play it, and watched any match they went to. It reminded him somewhat of soccer, a game he'd recently gotten into at his Muggle school, Brookland. But then his mother began to feel sick and went home, leaving him alone with his father. Alex wanted to go with her but didn't, staying both to support his brother and getting a quick look around, see how much danger Hogwarts was in. It was because of this that he found himself sitting beside a man named Snape, introduced to him by his father.

"Hello, Lucius. Here to see your son compete, I presume?" Snape's arms were crossed as he raised an eyebrow, glancing over the two.

"That's right, Severus."

"And who might this be?" Lucius glanced at Alex and his lips tightened, pressing together as if he didn't want to speak.

"This is Alex." That was all he said. Snape was skeptical, wondering who the boy truly was if he was with Lucius but didn't press the matter, taking his seat with silence. Alex was intimidated by the dark-haired man but didn't let it show, focusing on the game instead. The blond boy frowned at how dirty the Slytherins played and just wondered how no one was calling out fouls on them. Yes, what they were doing was technically allowed, but that didn't make it any better to do. He also had to duck when the rogue bludger started chasing Harry, as did the rest of the people in the tower. He observed how it chased Harry and then Draco all over the field and into places he couldn't see, wincing when Draco 'landed' and almost covering his eyes when the bludger nearly killed Harry. Even if this wasn't the book's doing he was glad he was at a Muggle school instead where things looked a lot safer than this. And after the match, when he and Lucius left the stands to check on Draco, he found that Harry was being brought to the Hospital Wing as well. Something about 'lacking bones in his arm.' Lucius gave a small huff when he overheard it.

"My guess is that Lockhart had something to do with Potter losing bones." murmured the man, "Man couldn't cast a good shielding charm even if his life was in danger."

"Oooh..." Draco was groaning and Alex rolled his eyes. He knew when Draco was milking his performances and this was one of those times. Looking away as Lucius went to check on his son, Alex spotted Dobby peeking in from the hallway. Raising an eyebrow, he trotted over and ducked out of sight, joining Dobby in a small medical closet.

"What are you doing here?" Alex asked.

"Dobby wanted to let Master Alex know that he has been trying to tell Harry Potter Hogwarts is dangerous but has been unsuccessful."

"What do you mean? What have you been doing?" Dobby looked a mixture of scared and sheepish.

"Dobby has, erm, done a few things to stop Harry Potter."

"Including the bludger?" Alex demanded. Dobby shakily nodded, "I didn't want you to kill him or stop him, just warn him!"

"Dobby is sorry, Master! Dobby will iron his hands when he returns home!"

"Don't do that! You don't have to hurt yourself because you did something wrong." Alex had been telling Dobby that for years but knew the house elf wouldn't listen, having happened many times before. He sighed and rubbed his temples, "Look, talk to Harry tonight, but after that, leave him alone. I think he gets that something's going down at Hogwarts and is trying to solve it, but he doesn't need to have someone else trying to hurt him in the process."

"Yes, Master Alex." Dobby nodded and was gone at a snap of the fingers. Alex then stepped out of the closet and into the Hospital Wing, preparing to verbally assault Draco to get out his anger, get Draco up, and get him to stop whining, since he was perfectly fine, if a little sore.

* * *

**1993:**

It was during the holidays of Draco's third year that Alex came to visit, and that was the second time Harry had met Draco's brother. Despite all the turmoil that was going on (the escape of Sirius Black, the Dementors at Hogwarts, the Buckbeak case, etc.), Alex insisted to go see Draco, wanting to get out of the manor, which he had barely left at all in the two years since the 'Obscurial Incident,' and he was so insistent to his parents (read: annoying them) that they had no choice but to agree. And so Alex went, giving Draco a surprise not long before the visit to Hogsmeade was to commence. Of course, because of Alex's 'condition,' Draco was being extra protective of the other, staying close to Alex during the time he was there, and so was being less nasty to other people. Alex was not a bad person and so forced his brother to do the same, even if Draco wanted to badly make a remark or two about other students. Alex was even allowed to go to Hogsmeade after getting his own permission letter, and so he joined Draco in going to the village. It was because of Alex going along that Draco didn't go with his gang, and it became just a day where the brothers went and saw the shops and sights. It started to change, though, when they came across Harry's gang near the Shrieking Shack.

"...and so they let me go with you, as long as I stopped playing that 'horrid Muggle music' and running through the halls." Alex was explaining as he and Draco were walking the path to the Shrieking Shack.

"What were you playing?"

"Green Day's _1,000 Hours_. I can sing a bit of it if you want."

"No way, you have a horrible singing voice!"

"Says you!" And so the brothers playfully sent insults at one another, until the conversation turned to something neither had particularly wanted to talk about: the Buckbeak case.

"Why did you do it?" Alex asked, confusing Draco by giving no context.

"What do you mean?"

"Complaining to Father about your injury from the Hippogriff. You know how I feel about them."

"Yes, but you know how I feel about the half-giant that works here. Buckbeak was just caught in the crossfire."

"At least the trial's still ongoing, so maybe there's a way to still save Buckbeak." Draco snorted.

"You and I both know that won't happen, not with Father prosecuting the creature."

"Haven't you ever thought to _not _be nasty to someone?" Alex asked, "Just be nice to someone else other than me?" Draco paused.

"A little, yes."

"Is it more fun to be evil or good?"

"Good, I guess..."

"Well, you've got a few more years to change who you are, Draco, to not follow our Father."

"Why don't you try convincing Father to drop the charges?"

"You think I _haven't_?" Alex commented, "He may love me now, but he's hard to change."

"Point taken." It was at that moment that they finally came to the clearing where they could see the Shrieking Shack, only to find Harry's gang there. Draco's big brother instincts, as well as his snark, kicked in at that point, where he moved in front of Alex to protect him, but Alex decided to be stubborn and step in front of Draco to get a better look at the other teens. He'd met Harry only once and he'd never seen the other two before, he wondered who they were, then Draco pulled him back.

"Are you _trying_ to get hexed?!" hissed the elder. Alex shrugged off his grip.

"If you weren't so mean to them, I bet that they'd actually be very nice people to us." Draco snorted at that, but seeing that Alex wasn't going to change his mind, followed his little brother as Alex went to greet Harry and his friends. And yet they stopped short when they found the other two people comforting Harry, and he seemed to be crying.

"We shouldn't bother them." said Alex, moving away.

"And yet you were the one who wanted to go see them in the first place!" Draco said in exasperation.

"Yeah, but I know when it's a bad time to intrude." Alex gave his brother a look, "Leave them be this time Draco."

"But-"

"_Draco_."

"...Fine." The platinum blond trudged after his brother through the snow when the temperature suddenly seemed to dip even more.

"Brr." Alex shook and Draco got closer to him so that they would both stay warm.

"Easy." He glanced around nervously, "We should head back to Hogsmeade. I don't like this."

"Why?" questioned Alex, who breathed slightly and a small cloud of of his breath appeared right in front of his face. It was thicker than it had been before, as if the temperature truly had dropped.

"It's getting colder. That usually means Dementors are around."

"I thought they didn't leave the castle grounds, though."

"They aren't, unless-" Draco's eyes suddenly widened and he smacked his forehead, "Oh god, I forgot about that notice!"

"What notice?" Draco grabbed Alex's hand and began dragging him faster towards the village.

"They're supposed to patrol Hogsmeade every night until Black is caught, but I bet Potter's the reason they're out here now! That little-!" Before Draco could finish, a floating, haunted-looking hooded figure descended into their path, and both boys became enshrouded in feelings of despair and depression, almost freezing them to the spot. Alex was able to overcome the feelings and began running back towards Harry's gang, Draco in tow, and the Dementor chased after them.

"Help!" Alex called, "Help!" Alex didn't know how Harry's gang could help, but he hoped they could. He had heard from Draco that Hermione (the 'mudblood' of the group) knew most everything, so he hoped she knew some way to get rid of the Dementor. He just wondered if they could reach the others in time, as the Dementor was catching up. But then they crested a hill and spotted the trio below, where they ran pell-mell towards them, the Dementor right on their heels.

"Help!" Alex cried again. The trio looked up in surprise at the call and shot to their feet at the sight of the Dementor, wands out as if they could protect Alex and Draco. But as soon as the brothers reached Harry's gang, the Dementor paused, as if unsure what to do. Was it trying to pick who it would attack?

"_Incendio_!" Hermione's wand shot out a stream of flame at the Dementor, and the bottom of its cloak lit up slightly before being doused by the Dementor's natural cold atmosphere, and that seemed to set it off to strike, as it suddenly flew forward and grabbed-

"ALEX!" The boy heard his brother's scream but was too focused on the hooded, scabby figure leaning down into his face. As it came closer and closer, more despair piled on and it felt hopeless to get away from the Dementor, and he could hear something else for some reason. It was the faint screams of someone, certainly not his brother, but they seemed familiar, and a flash of orange-red could be seen like a film over his eyes, as if he was seeing something not there. But then there was another flash, this time pure purple, and the Dementor was forced to let Alex go. As soon as it was gone the blond took in a breath, everything coming back to normal, but then he grew angry. The damn Dementor chased them here and tried to kill them (or at least harm them) when it wasn't supposed to be, and as far as he knew, Draco was now the one in serious danger. So, without meaning to, Alex's rage produced the Obscurus and it attacked the Dementor, bringing down trees and flinging them at the dark creature, and kept doing do until the Dementor finally fled, screeching. However, the Obscurus kept raging and tearing everything else down with it, until it could hear the soft shout of a voice through its rage, a voice it knew, trying to calm it, and it slowly returned to Alex, leaving the boy exhausted and on the verge of collapse. Draco, who had been the one to snap Alex out of his rage, gently held onto the other to help keep him steady.

"I know what you're going to say." he muttered lowly, loud enough for the others to hear but dark enough for them to know he wasn't happy about any of this, "Alex is dangerous, I get that, but he's also my brother. If any of you talk of this event to _anyone_ and it gets out, I'll make sure that being sued by Father will be the _least_ of your worries." Draco helped Alex to his feet, the adopted boy still a bit shaking, especially upon standing.

"Malfoy, wait-" Harry said.

"Save it, Potter." Draco spat, "If you plan to insult us now, go ahead, but leave my brother out of it."

"We just want to help."

"Of _course _you do." Draco said and gave a small growl when Harry tried to approach. With a little coaxing, he managed to get Alex walking and they started heading back to Hogsmeade, but not before they caught a few more words.

"Give it up Harry, Malfoy's not gonna accept anything you try to give 'im."

"But what _was_ that? I've never seen anything like it, not in any books I've read!" Draco paused for a moment, then looked back.

"That _thing_," he called, getting their attention, "is called an Obscurus. Look it up in a history book." And with that parting comment, Draco and Alex made their way back to Hogsmeade, where Draco shared some Honeydukes chocolate with the other before they returned to Hogwarts to spend the rest of their holiday together, inside and warm. But not without a few visits from the Golden Trio, of course, for every-so-often Draco and/or Alex would catch them nearby, staring or glaring at the brothers, but Draco ignored it. Alex, however, could not and eventually talked to Draco about letting him speak with Harry's gang, only for the other to sternly refuse.

"No. I can see that look in your eye, but no." Draco said, "You're not going anywhere near Potter and his pals right now." The brothers were grabbing breakfast from the kitchens when they caught sight of Harry's group before the Malfoys quickly rushed away (read: Draco dragging Alex away).

"And why not?" Alex jerked his arm and freed it from Draco's grip, forcing the two to make a stalemate in the hallway.

"I don't want them jinxing you or something, even worse if they hurt you."

"Hurt _me_?" Alex gave a dark laugh, "You know what I am, they can't hurt me."

"Yes they can, Potter's defeated You-Know-Who and even killed the Basilisk last year!" Draco's face softened, "Alex please-"

"I'm going to see them and apologize, whether you want me to or not!" Alex turned around, only for Draco to snap out his wand, but the adopted boy kept walking.

"Don't make me do this." Draco warned. Alex glanced back and smiled darkly.

"Catch me if you can, brother." And the boy began to run.

"_Incarcerous_!" Draco's wand spat out coils of rope, trying to catch Alex, but the boy was too fast. It didn't help that he had some martial arts training as a hobby, making him even swifter and more deadly than a normal Muggle. Draco chased after Alex, calling different spells to stop him, but his brother just kept dodging and running up the stairs, trying to get to the Gryffindor Common Room and, as much as Draco tried, Alex managed it, though he couldn't solve the riddle. He just literally ran into the Golden Trio, who had been about to make their way inside, and when he saw this, Draco just gave up.

"Okay, fine, talk to them!" Draco spoke, "But if any of you hurt him, you'll have a lot of trouble to deal with." He gave them a glare.

"Ignore him." Alex waved off his brother, "Too overprotective. Anyway, there was something I wanted to talk to you about." He strolled inside without a care, ignoring the stares he got. When he noticed the trio hadn't followed him, he turned and gave them a look, "Well?"

"...You really aren't a lot like Draco, are you." It wasn't a question as Harry led his friends back in. Alex shrugged, catching sight of Draco's worried look before the picture closed.

"You tell me." He took a seat on one of the chairs in the Common Room, which was nearly empty, waiting for the trio's questions. Harry, Hermione, and their redheaded friend joined him, sitting on the couch beside the chair.

"So..." said the redhead, as if trying to get things started so they wouldn't have to deal with an awkward silence.

"You're the ones with the questions. Ask away." Hermione opened her mouth, ready to ask so many things, but Harry held up a hand.

"Hold on. You're allowed to ask questions, too." said the dark-haired teen, "Draco's probably told you a lot, but you might wanna ask for yourself, right?" Alex shrugged again.

"Doesn't matter to me."

"Alright then." Harry allowed Hermione to speak and she had a slew of questions for the blond teen. She looked up Obscuri after their last encounter and was amazed at how he was still alive, since the host didn't usually live beyond ten years. She was also impressed with his amazing control over the creature, having not hurt anyone except the Dementor and calming at Draco's voice.

"That was pure luck." Alex spoke quietly, a little subdued as he remembered the event, "Usually it's a lot worse. At least, it was when it happened the only other time."

"What was that?" asked Harry.

"Your first year at Hogwarts, during the holidays." Alex looked down, unsure if he should continue, but did so anyway, "I blew the top off the manor. Literally."

"I woulda loved to see that." said the redhead.

"No, Ron!" Hermione gave him a glare. Oh. So _he_ was the Weasley Draco talked about so much, only a little less than Harry. Alex knew not to believe much of what his family told him, but it seemed Ron disliked the Malfoys as much as they disliked him.

"Just promise not to tell anyone." Alex said, getting their attention again, "You know Obscurials haven't been seen in over two hundred years, right? At least, in the United States. If anyone found out that shouldn't..." He shrugged again, "I don't care what happens to me, I just don't want Draco or Mum or Dad getting hurt."

"I promise." said Harry, "It's like keeping magic a secret, and I know what that's like." He gave a grin, "You won't believe what happened just before I came to Hogwarts."

"I'm sure you've got a good story to tell. It'd be nice to hear something like that for once." As Harry told what he'd accidentally done to his Aunt Marge and barely avoided getting expelled (let alone arrested), Hermione and Ron argued a little until she managed to convince him to keep the secret. Alex was glad they'd keep it and so tried to answer any other questions they had, being friendly and trying to give a good impression. He understood that they _really_ didn't like his brother, but that didn't mean they should think all Malfoys were bad. After a while, another boy entered the Common Room, the same year as the trio but with a face that looked naturally confused or dopey. Alex was sure he wasn't, it was just in his face, that was all. The teen gave Alex a surprised look, then jerked a thumb at the entrance, "Hey, uh, guys? Why's Draco standing outside?" The group blinked, surprised, and Alex gave an amused smile before standing.

"Looks like I've gotta go." He gave them a small wave, "You ever wanna talk, you probably know the address." And with that, the blond left the Common Room. He'd rarely asked any questions of his own but now knew more about the trio, at least more than what Draco told him. He was now sure that, if needed, they would be willing to help if something happened. With his condition, he hoped they wouldn't need to be called on.

"Really?" he asked after the portrait closed with a 'hmf.'

"You're my brother." Draco reasoned, "I wasn't just going to go off and leave you to get back to the Common Room alone."

"Who said I was gonna go back to the Common Room?" They walked off together, just chatting. Until Alex had to return to the manor, they'd spend as much time together as they could.

* * *

_**AN: ****So, Year 2 was written just recently, long after Year 3, so if they don't quite fit together, that's why.**_


	3. The Dark Lord Returns (Year 4)

**1994:**

It was before Draco's fourth year began that things began to change. Alex was not a stranger to being sent to his room when company was coming over, but it was happening much more than normal as the summer wore on, mostly because of a man named 'Pettigrew' that came to visit.

"From what I've heard from Father," Draco started, being Alex' main informant when he was confined to his room, "he used to be Weasley's pet rat until he was outed by Black and Lupin."

"And he's one of the Dark Lord's supporters, right?" Being a Muggle, Alex had heard little of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (Narcissa and Lucius had wanted to keep him out of certain parts of the Wizarding World if they could) but knew that his family was closely tied with the Dark Lord, not to mention all the stories.

"Yes." Draco nodded, "I think he was the one who framed Black for outing the Potters and killing almost a dozen people."

"Sounds like a bad dude." Alex frowned, "Why is he coming over so often." Draco frowned as well.

"I don't know. Mother… She says that the Death Eaters are regrouping. It's possible Pettigrew might be trying to revive the Dark Lord somehow."

"And me? What happens to me?" Alex brought up his legs close to his chest. The two brothers were sitting on his bed as they talked and Draco put a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Nothing. I'll make sure of it. No abuse of your powers, no trying to kill you, nothing." Draco gave a smile, trying to reassure Alex, "You're my little brother. It's my job to protect you and I'm not going back on that." Alex smiled slightly, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Thanks, Draco." They sat in silence, just trying to comfort each other with their presence. It was the best they could do at the moment. After Harry had freed Dobby, Alex had no friends at the manor during the school year and was mostly alone, except he'd made some Muggle ones recently at his school. Having thought he had no magical ability, he'd been enrolled at a school in Chelsea, London, called Brookland. He hadn't immediately fit in but he got used to being an outsider. He really hadn't made friends until the past year, when a new transfer named Tom Harris had joined the school. He wasn't a troublemaker, really, but he was mischievous enough to catch Alex's eye. They quickly became friends, but because of Alex's background he couldn't invite Tom over, so he'd managed to convince his parents to allow him to have playdates at the park or something, just to have time with his friend. He'd told Draco about Tom many times but they'd never met, where Tom was the only one who minded it. He'd love to meet Alex's family and just know more about his mysterious friend but there was nothing Alex could do. Especially not now, with thoughts of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named on the Wizarding World's mind.

"How's your friend? Tom, isn't it?" Draco asked after a while.

"Good." Alex winced, "I think his parents are gonna divorce soon, though. Fights are rough over there."

"Poor guy." Draco nodded in sympathy, "I heard you're on the football team now. It's kinda like Quidditch, except on the ground, right?" Alex snorted.

"Kinda, except you don't have two angry balls trying to take your head off and a third that decides the game. If you want, I can show you how to play it." Draco's face scrunched up and Alex chuckled at the look.

"No thank you." Suddenly the door opened and Narcissa poked her head in.

"Draco? I need you to come downstairs with me." She gave Alex a sad look and he knew he couldn't leave the room yet. Draco gave his brother a hug before he left with their mother and Alex sat alone once more.

* * *

The Quidditch World Cup had been great until the end. Alex had managed to keep Draco from insulting the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione too much, meeting the rest of the Weasley clan in the process, then there were the attacks. There had been chaos as Death Eaters stormed the camp and Alex hadn't known anything about it, getting separated from his brother and family in the ensuing panic. He stamped down on his own fear and tried to make his way through the chaos, looking for anyone he knew, he could trust, but there was no one. He flinched and winced at the screams from Muggles and Muggle-borns alike, feeling their pain to an extent and just wondering how this could've happened. Then he was cornered himself. He was a big secret in the family, so there was no reason for him to not be assumed as a Muggle. He backed away, cornered on one side by a wall of fire and the other by two Death Eaters, their masks terrifying him.

_Conceal, conceal, conceal…_ He couldn't let the Obscurus out, he just couldn't. He didn't want to hurt any-

"_Crucio!_" He'd never felt such pain before. His body burned like he stepped back into the fire itself, knives were stabbing him all over, his head was going to explode. He screamed in such terrible pain and was in no shape to contain the Obscurus, which blasted out and consumed his body, trying to protect it. It attacked the Death Eaters, ripping off their masks and tearing them to shreds before targeting anything else in its path, mainly Death Eaters, and flew over the Cup like a mighty monster or dragon, ready to destroy the area even more than it already was. It made no sound as it moved through the air even though it was screeching inside, still reeling from the pain it had felt. It wouldn't stop until all were hurting as it had.

Below, Draco wasn't feeling much better. He'd lost Alex and his mother had him stay in the safety of the forest, prohibiting him from leaving the area until it was all over before she left herself. Draco could barely believe it, he needed to find Alex but he also couldn't disobey his mother. Wasn't she supposed to care about both of her children? Unless she was out looking for Alex, but Draco didn't feel comfortable with that. He had to find Alex himself or he'd never be able to sleep at night. He'd promised his brother no harm would come to him, he wasn't going to break that promise.

"Harry!" Draco looked over to see the trio approaching, "I don't think your wand's this way!"

"It has to be around here somewhere, Hermione!" The trio paused when they saw Draco and they stared at each other, apprehensive. Eventually the blond teen broke the silence.

"What do you want?" he snapped.

"Just looking for my wand, Malfoy." said Harry, "Where's your brother?"

"None of your business!" Draco looked through the trees to the fairgrounds again, "But if you must know… I have no idea. We got separated and I'm afraid he may be in danger. They're after Muggles, you know, the Death Eaters, and they certainly don't know about Alex." Draco held himself tighter, a sick feeling settling inside, "They could find him and hurt him and there's nothing I could do because Mother said I had to stay here."

"You could just go looking anyway." Ron suggested, briefly wondering why he was giving advice to his enemy.

"Still too dangerous."

"Not if we stay together." Harry said, glancing at his friends, "He's your brother and our friend, right?"

"If you think that." said Draco, but he followed them back the way they'd come, closer to the edge of the forest, and there they met up with Fred, George, and Ginny.

"Hi, Malfoy." Even though the greeting was said like it was supposed to be happy, it was coated with some anger, especially from Ginny.

"Don't start a fight." said Hermione, "We're helping him find Alex."

"You sure he's your brother?" asked Geroge.

"You don't look much alike." added Fred.

"Shut it!" snapped Draco. He stepped to the edge of the forest and scanned the skies, looking for any sign of anything out of the ordinary. He doubted Alex was still human by this point, as much as he wished it to be true, and if his brother was in Obscurus form, he had to find him before the Ministry got word of it.

"What's with the pack?" Ginny suddenly asked, curious, "You weren't wearing it before the attacks."

"It'll help calm Alex when we find him." was all Draco said. He scanned they sky for another minute, building up courage to go back to the camps to look for Alex when he saw something in the sky. It was hard to see against the dark background, but there was certainly _something_ weaving and pulsing in the air, angry and loathing. It had to be the Obscurus, Draco was sure, and so he took off the pack and dug through it until he came up with Jack. It may have been several years since Alex had last cuddled with the toy but it always calmed him and Draco hoped it would work.

"Is that _yours_?"

"Shut up Ron!" The platinum blond boy ignored them and held out the stuffed hippogriff, hoping that the Obscurus would see it and come after it. There was a pause in the air, then the tension ramped up as the Obscurus flew down and approached. The twins instantly took out their wands, instincts kicking in to protect the younger kids, but Draco held up a hand.

"Let loose a spell and the last thing you'll see is an Obscurus tearing your face off." he said. The creature slowed to a stop and hovered in the air just before the group, curling in on itself and wavering in the light, as if wondering what to do. Draco jiggled the hand that held Jack and said, "It's okay. You want Jack, right? Here's Jack." The Obscurus did nothing for a moment before it reached out and enveloped Draco's hand, where it took the toy from his grasp and sucked it into the rest of the creature. There was a peculiar sound that reminded them of purring as the Obscurus swirled around the toy and slowly, it calmed down enough to form Alex again, sitting on the ground and holding Jack so tightly. He looked like a mess.

"What happened?" asked Draco, crouching next to him. He went to touch Alex but the look in his brother's eyes stopped him. There was terror and pain in those eyes, so much of it that Draco knew something had happened to set him off. Alex didn't speak for a moment, but when he did, it was little more than a croak.

"Death Eaters. _Crucio_, whatever the hell that curse was. It hurt _so_ much." He shivered, "Where's Mum and Dad?"

"Somewhere. C'mon, we've got to go." He helped Alex to his feet and they joined the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione in the safety of the forest. They stayed together in the space, waiting for the commotion to cease, and the trio explained to George, Fred, and Ginny what an Obscurus was and in turn the twins confessed what Crucio was, since none of the other kids had heard of it before.

"It's one of the three Unforgivable Curses." said Fred.

"They're called 'unforgivable' because they're the worst of the worst." added George, "The curses are the Imperius Curse, the Cruciatus Curse, and the Killing Curse."

"The Killing Curse, well, _kills _people, the Imperius Curse controls people and the caster can make them do whatever they want, and the Cruciatus Curse is also known as the Torture Curse." Fred explained, "It's so painful that it can break your mind if used too much on you."

"I don't blame you for attacking the Death Eaters if they used _that_ on you, Alex." George said, "Feel better?"

"A bit." Draco had given his little brother some chocolate from the pack and Alex did seem considerably better. They all stopped when they caught a flash of green light out of the corner of their eyes and looked up to see _something_ being drawn in the sky. It looked like a skull with a snake crawling out of its mouth and it spooked them terribly.

"What _is_ that?" Ginny asked.

"Don't know, don't like it." said Fred.

"Malfoy-?" began Harry.

"I don't know about it either, Potter." Suddenly there were popping sounds and someone got them to the ground, just barely avoiding the Stunning Spells sent their way. It seemed the Ministry had _finally_ decided to appear and put a stop to everything. However, there was no reason for them to accuse a group of _children_, right? But then again, when dealing with You-Know-Who, paranoia could get an all-time high. Luckily for them, Mr. Weasley stepped in. The kids were then aggressively questioned, especially Alex and Draco, since it was a known fact that their father had once been on the Dark Lord's side. After what had happened earlier, Alex was still a bit unstable and so Draco did his best to answer any questions he could, not wanting the adults to set Alex off again. To his surprise, Harry, Hermione, and even the Weasleys backed him up. They probably didn't want Alex unleashing his Obscurus in front of Ministry officials, either. Draco sent them a grateful look. It wasn't enough to completely deter the questioning, however.

"And who might you be, boy?" asked one of the officials, directing it to Alex.

"His name is Alex, sir." Draco stepped in, moving in front of his brother to protect him if need be. That also put him in the line of fire if Alex freaked out but he wasn't going to let his brother get hurt again.

"Well, what is he doing here? I know everyone here except him." The official gave Alex a dirty look.

"He's-" Draco realized he didn't have much of a choice if he wanted to protect Alex, "He's my brother, sir." Alex gave him an astonished look. They'd made sure for so long that he was a secret, why confess it now?

"Brother?!" gasped a witch, "I thought Lucius only had _one_ son..."

"And I suppose neither of you made that mark?" Crouch accused, pointing to the image in the sky.

"We didn't." Draco affirmed, looking much braver than he felt in the face of the man, "We don't have our wands on us, how could we?"

"I'm pretty sure the light came from that direction, sir." said Harry, pointing away. This diverted the officials' attention, causing them to search in another area.

"Thanks." Alex murmured, hugging Jack to his chest.

"No problem. And Malfoy, you owe us."

"Yes, I know." said Draco, then turned to his brother, "You okay?"

"Pretty sure I would've had a breakdown or something if they kept questioning us." he whispered, "Why did you say that?"

"Had to protect you. If I didn't, they could've arrested you or worse."

"I want Mum. Even Dad would be a great sign right now."

"Boys!" There was Narcissa now. She gave each of them a hug and looked them over, searching for injuries, "Are you okay?"

"Shaken, but yeah." Alex said. Draco gave him a look but said nothing to contradict the other's statement, "Can we go home now?" Narcissa gave a sad frown.

"Not yet. The Ministry doesn't want anyone leaving until things are settled."

"Okay." Alex was resigned to it even as fear tinged his voice. Narcissa gave Draco a look, who could only seem a mixture of frightened and tired, just like Alex.

"Let's head back to the tent, then." said their mother.

"Wait." Alex went over to the Weasleys and lowered his voice, "You don't know how much this means to us, to _me_. But don't tell it to anyone, okay? If you ever need anything, just ask." With a small, genuine smile, he returned to his family and they left the area. The group was left with a small feeling of surprise but it was quickly overcome with what was going on in the direction Harry had told the officials.

* * *

Just before they were allowed to leave for Malfoy Manor, they were told that there had been sights of either a Death Eater apparating...or an Obscurus. This did not leave the Wizarding World in good spirits either way and Narcissa was partially angry at Alex and partially worried at what caused him to transform, so as soon as they were home, she had the boys go to their rooms. She didn't wait for Lucius to return as she went to Alex's room, not barging in so as not to scare him. He was scared enough as it was.

"Alex?" She slowly opened the door and peeked in. Her son was holding Jack tightly to his chest, sniffing a little as if trying to cry but quickly wiping away any tears or snot when she called his name.

"Yes, Mum?"

"You don't have to be so formal, sweetie." She closed the door behind her as she entered before joining him on the bed, "What happened? Did you get separated from Draco?" The boy nodded.

"Death Eaters attacked me." he said quietly. Narcissa tried not to show any emotion except for clenching a fist. Dark Lord or not, _no one _hurt her children. Alex went on, "They used an Unforgivable Curse."

"Oh sweetie..." She wrapped him in a hug. That was when he broke, crying against her and muffling his sobs in her shoulder. Narcissa held him in her arms, sorrow in her heart for her son as she whispered soothing words to him. When he began to stop crying, she asked, "Who did it? Did you see their faces?"

"They're dead." he hiccuped, "Tore them apart." Narcissa couldn't argue with that. Anyone who tried to hurt an Obscurus deserved the fate they got.

"You'll be okay now, Alex. I promise."

On the other side of the wall, Draco was listening. There was a vent installed between the rooms when the manor had been renovated in the wake of Alex's first transformation, allowing them to hear each other if need be. He hated how broken his brother sounded and silently vowed to himself that he'd never let this happen to Alex again. He'd put his life on the line if he had to. That was how much he cared for his little brother. He turned to his own door when he heard a small knock. There was his father in the doorway, hand resting on the frame.

"What's going on?" he whispered.

"Alex was attacked and transformed." Draco raked a hand through his hair worriedly, "It was Death Eaters." He glared at his father, "Didn't they know he wasn't a Muggle or a mudblood?"

"Draco-"

"They used _Crucio_ on him! You're our father, aren't you supposed to protect us?!" His voice, which had been rising, broke at the end. Lucius had a stern face but Draco knew from experience that his father wasn't mad or even disappointed, but it was hard to tell what he was feeling.

"He got his revenge." Lucius stroked a hand down his wand, a sign of nervousness, "Several of us were hurt or killed, certainly not by spells." He tightened his grip, "The Dark Lord knows an Obscurus is about." Draco froze.

"Does- does he know it's Alex?"

"No, not yet, but he will have to be moved anyway." Lucius gave a grimace, "If all goes well, the Dark Lord will be joining us next summer. As it is, Pettigrew will be moving in and we won't be able to hide Alex from him forever. I'm thinking of having him board near Brookland-"

"The Weasleys." Draco blurted. Lucius paused, giving his son a surprised look. Draco quickly tried to explain his statement, "They're Muggle-loving purebloods, friends with Granger and Potter. It won't look out of place if they gain another friend, right?"

"Draco-"

"We owe them, too. Mr. Weasley saved us from getting stunned by the Ministry and Potter helped keep the officials from freaking Alex out again. They'd keep him safe and a secret." Lucius twisted his wand, eyes staring at Draco as he thought, and the platinum blond squirmed under his father's tough gaze.

"Fine." he sighed eventually. Draco started, blinking in surprise, then smiled.

"Thank you, Father."

"We'll wait a few days before visiting the Weasleys." Lucius put away his wand, "Help make sure that Alex is ready to leave. For now, your mother and I are going to talk." He frowned, "I'm sure she has some choice words for me..." And with that, he walked over to Alex's room. Draco pitied his father, but not by much. He was only glad Alex would have a place to stay, but nervous about what was to come. He wouldn't be able to see his brother for a while, probably years, maybe never. Could he stand that? He didn't know, but he had to make sure Alex would be safe somehow, in any way he could.

* * *

On the night of August 25th, there was a knock on the door to the Burrow and when Mrs. Weasley went to get it, she was surprised to see Lucius and his sons before her.

"Hello, Molly." Lucius gave her a tight nod, "As much as I dislike this, I want to ask a favor of you and your family."

"Well!" said Molly, surprised, "Please come in so that we can talk." She stepped aside to let Lucius and his sons inside. The man walked in but the boys stayed behind, causing her to raise an eyebrow. It was also by this point that she noticed one of them was sitting on top of a large trunk with a pack slung over his shoulders, "Aren't you coming in, dears?"

"Not now." said Lucius, "I'll explain if you'll let me." Molly was unsure of leaving the two alone and so peeked upstairs to grab Arthur and ask one of her boys to go see Draco and Alex. Upon hearing who had arrived, all of the Weasley boys, Ginny, and Harry went down to look. Usually something like this wouldn't really bother Bill or Charlie, but there was something about Alex that had caught their attention at the Cup. And from the bits and pieces they'd heard from their brothers, Harry, and Ginny, he could really use some company. The reason Percy wasn't going was because he'd already left to return to the Ministry, Bill and Charlie didn't have to leave for a few more days and so decided to spend some time with the troubled boy.

"Nice to see you too, Malfoy." said Fred.

"I'd love to have come for a fight but that's not why we're here." Draco growled.

"So why _are_ you here?" asked Charlie.

"I need a place to stay." Alex said. Jack was in his pack. He hadn't wanted to let go of the toy since the Cup and so kept it as close as possible. He wanted it in his arms but didn't want anyone to see his toy and accuse him of being a baby.

"Why?" wondered Ginny.

"It's a long story." Draco said, glaring, "As it is, I need to ask something of you myself."

"Is it a bad thing if I say I don't trust you?" Harry quipped.

"It's important, guys." Alex said, "Just listen, at least." When no one interrupted, Draco spoke, "I want to ask if one of you could become a Secret-Keeper for us."

"Absolutely not!" Charlie and Bill were already protesting, "What kind of secret do you have that needs a Secret-Keeper?!"

"Hold on!" Ron interrupted them, "What the hell is a Secret-Keeper?"

"Someone who keeps secrets, duh." Alex rolled his eyes and got a jab in the side from his brother in return.

"What Alex means," Draco grumbled, "is that a Secret-Keeper is someone who keeps a very special secret. They're the only one who can tell someone because the secret becomes part of their soul and anyone who knows can't pass it on except the Secret-Keeper themselves. You also can't get the secret out of them unless they give it willingly."

"This isn't something to consider _lightly_." Bill stressed, "You become a Secret-Keeper, you usually take the secret with you to your grave. Only the biggest, worst secrets should be kept by Secret-Keepers. Why are you even _asking_ this?!"

"Because we don't want anyone else knowing about it." Alex snapped, his anger a surprise to most of them, "We don't even trust our parents to be Secret-Keepers! Not even each other! Do you know how hard that is, not being able to trust even your own family with a huge secret? No, I don't suppose you do, because you trust _everyone_." He spat the last word viciously before climbing off the trunk and walking off.

"Alex!" Draco called after him, "Now look what you've done, Weasley. I hope you're proud of yourself." With another glare, Draco went after his brother.

"What are they even doing here?" wondered Charlie.

"It's a long story." murmured George.

"You _know_?" asked Bill, "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because you were busy being mad?" said Fred.

"It's the least we could do." Harry mused, "They owe us after what happened at the Cup and Alex is lots nicer than Draco. But Secret-Keeper?"

"I'm sure if you'd please explain a little of _what's going on_ we might help you out." Charlie said, crossing his arms, "And besides, the second someone becomes Secret-Keeper, we wouldn't be able to tell it anyway. Anyone who already knows the secret can't say anything about it again."

"Well..." Ron began, "Ginny, why don't you tell them."

"Ron!" she exclaimed, but the whole group worked together to explain the situation to Charlie and Bill, Ginny ending with, "...and now they'll probably want to kill us for sharing this secret so much."

"An Obscurus, huh?" Charlie mused.

"_**NO**_." said Ron, George, and Fred, knowing what he was thinking.

"This isn't Care of Magical Creatures and certainly not dragons!" George said.

"You could get yourself killed!" added Fred.

"We're not making this up!" Ron said.

"I know you're not." Charlie said, "I'm just thinking of how I could help."

"Again, no." Bill spoke, "Not until we know how to handle Alex."

"But the Secret-Keeper-?" Harry tried to get things back on track.

"They can do it." Bill's response was mostly a sigh, "It's their decision. Just- Whoever is Secret-Keeper, take it seriously. This isn't something to joke about. Even if no one you share the secret with can speak of it, someone could just as well kill you so you don't speak of it." Bill glanced over to where Draco was trying to convince Alex to come back, as if to make his point.

"Then why not you?" Ginny suggested, "You or Percy. You're both so serious and stuff."

"Not us. No one else needs to know, certainly not Percy." Bill said, "No more sharing."

"I've got an idea..." Charlie whispered his idea to Bill. The eldest brother was silent as he contemplated Charlie's words.

"...That could work." he said at last.

"Well?" asked Fred.

"What's the verdict?" wondered George.

"You two."

"What?!" This surprised just about everyone.

"Why us?!" The twins were astonished.

"Because," Charlie leaned back against the chest, "Who'd ever think to ask the troublemakers for a secret like Alex's?"

"Good point." Harry said. The twins didn't look as sure.

"Excuse us for a moment." Fred and George grabbed Charlie's arms before dragging their brother away so that they wouldn't be overheard.

"We're not mad about the troublemaker thing-" began George.

"-It's so true-"

"-we just wanna know the real reason why."

"Do you really think we're good at this sort of thing?" Charlie smiled.

"I'm sure of it. Just take a look at yourselves once in a while. There's a reason why I think you can do it, but you'll have to find out for yourselves." And with that, Charlie walked back to the group, leaving the twins alone. They truly were surprised that anyone thought they could do something like this, be Secret-Keepers for such a devastating secret. It just didn't fell right to them somehow, but if they were _both_ Secret-Keepers, then maybe they could work together to keep it. After all, Bill had said that they had to give up the secret _willingly_ for anyone to know. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as they thought, right? They went back to the group and it was about that time that Alex and Draco finally came back. Alex didn't look happy to be there, probably still a little angry after his outburst while Draco looked tired and frustrated. He seemed older than he should have and that really showed.

"Well?" asked the platinum blond, "Can we have a Secret-Keeper."

"Yes, you can." Bill nodded, "We even have a suggestion." He whispered it to the brothers and while Draco reacted negatively, Alex wasn't sure how to take it.

"Absolutely not! Not those two!"

"But who'd think to ask them about it? It's be more Charlie's thing, and since you're rivals with Harry and Ron, people might think to ask them too."

"He's got a point." Alex spoke.

"No!"

"Draco." Alex narrowed his eyes, catching his brother in his gaze, "You know this is perfect, you just don't trust them. You wouldn't be protesting this much if it was Harry or Ron because you know them, or as well as you think you do. You know the rest of the Weasleys by reputation except Fred and George. You know they cause tons of trouble and think that they can't keep a secret, but that's the perfect reason to choose them because no one would think to ask. Besides, it's _my_ decision too, not just yours."

"Alex-" Draco began, then stopped, "...You're right. I only want you to be safe, though, and with the Weasleys-"

"I'll be the safest I've ever been." Alex interrupted, "Just try, Draco. Trust someone for once."

"I trust people! I trust you!" Alex raised an eyebrow, a questioning look on his face. Draco growled, "Okay, I don't trust anyone, but I _do_ trust you, I mean it! Again, I just want you to be safe."

"I'll be safe." Alex gave a grin, but it was tinged with darkness, "I can defend myself pretty well."

"...Fine." Draco eventually relented, "But we need to do this quickly, before Father gets back."

"Do you even know how to do it?" Harry questioned skeptically.

"No, but I'm certain the older Weasleys know. Right?" Bill and Charlie rolled their eyes.

"You're a lucky little snake, you know that, Malfoy?" Bill grumbled, pulling out his wand.

"I'm _cunning_, not lucky."

"Draco, shut up." Alex said, "They're doing us a good thing, don't go and ruin it."

"Make me." Alex rolled his eyes.

"One day, your smart mouth and arrogance is gonna bite you in the arse." muttered the younger blond, "One day..."

* * *

After Lucius had managed to convince the Weasleys to take care of his son without actually giving the real reason ("He's sickly and all the dust in the manor isn't good for him. The doctor said he needs to be out in the _country_, of all things..."), he and Draco had returned home, leaving Alex with his new 'family.' Molly was a very sweet person and Arthur, with all his Muggle knowledge, gave Alex one hell of a laughing fit and even filled in a few missing pieces that he didn't know, but he didn't quite fit in. Too many people knew his secret as it was, even though they now had established Secret-Keepers. What if, somehow, someone managed to break the Fidelius Charm and then could know his secret? What if Draco's biggest fear came true and someone tried to use him for their own gain?

Or what if his parents had just used this opportunity to try throwing him away again? It hurt to think about.

"Alex?" He turned to spot Fred at his door. Because Percy, Bill, and Charlie had moved back to their jobs, Alex had taken one of their rooms to stay in for the time being and was now sitting on a bed. It would be immensely lonely in a few more days, seeing as Hogwarts was about to be in session. But he'd have plenty to explore, right? The house was like an upright maze, both inside and out, not to mention the chicken coop and the barn.

"Yeah?"

"Mum wanted to know if you wanted to join us, going to the Hogwarts Express later this week." he said hopefully.

"I don't wanna get in the way-" Alex started.

"You wouldn't!" Fred shook his head, "It's just gonna be me, George, Ginny, Ron, Harry, and Mum. You can still come."

"How?" There were already so many going, how could he go with them? Fred gave him a smile.

"Ever heard of Floo Powder?"

"A little. Is that what you're gonna do?"

"We have to." Fred said, looking sheepish, "After what happened with the car, we go by Floo Powder now."

"...Do I even wanna know?"

"Probably not." Fred paused a moment, as if wondering if he should leave or not before entering the room. He closed the door behind him but didn't approach. Alex raised an eyebrow, wondering what he wanted.

"How's everything? I know it's been a few days, but we just wanna know if you're okay, adjusting and all." Alex shrugged.

"Better than the first day, at least." He'd barely gotten any sleep that first night, even with Jack in his arms. He was used to sleeping without Draco, but his home and his parents were another matter. It was such a strange place that he couldn't get a wink of sleep. Even now, a few hours after breakfast, he was still dead tired, but he was good at masking anything wrong. He'd managed to hide a peck mark from a peacock he'd gotten too close to on the grounds for several weeks and the only one who'd ever known was Draco and that was because Alex had told him. He was certain his parents hadn't noticed, though that was around the time he'd first unleashed his Obscurus and they had made an effort to care for him better.

"Well, you ever need anything, just ask." Fred said, "Mum and Dad'll be here for you, even if they won't always be home. You ever want us to send you anything from, like, Honeydukes, we will."

"Maybe not that, but… Do you mind giving Draco your address so he can send letters to me? I'm sure my parents already have your address, but he'll probably wanna keep in touch with me too." Fred nodded.

"Don't worry about it. As much of a prick as your brother is, we're not gonna cut him off from you." Alex smiled.

"Thanks. And if you ever need a way to deal with him, ask. I'm full of blackmail." He winked. Fred chuckled.

"So, do you wanna come with us? You'll probably see your family at the station." Alex thought about it.

"Sure. If it won't be too much trouble."

"If we can take Harry with us all the time, it won't be a trouble to have you there. We used to go with Charlie, Percy, and Bill, too. That's a lot bigger than the six of us, seven if you come."

"I guess." Alex gave a nod, "I'll come." Fred made for the door, then paused again.

"Also, don't come George and my room. We're trying to make some prank stuff and it could be dangerous. And don't tell Mum."

"I won't." Alex nodded back. Fred smiled before leaving and the blond boy was left alone again. He didn't want to mention it to the elder but Fred was the first person here to make him feel more comfortable, even if it wasn't by much. Maybe he could live here and have fun after all.

* * *

Because of the distance and the danger, Alex wouldn't be able to go back to Brookland and probably wouldn't for a long time, maybe even never. He hoped, after seeing everyone off to Hogwarts, he, Arthur, and Molly could stop by Tom's house, just so Alex could say goodbye. He didn't want to disappear and never let his only Muggle friend know. He wouldn't tell the truth, but he'd sorely miss Tom.

"Come on now, keep up!" Alex snapped out of his thoughts and jogged to keep up with everyone. They weren't late, exactly, but they had to stop to get some last-minute stuff and were cutting it close. Alex hoped he'd be able to say goodbye to Draco, at least. It's been almost a week and he was already missing his big brother. He followed behind the Weasleys and Harry as they ducked into Platform 9¾, muffling a gasp. He'd done it before so many times but could never get used to it.

"Load your stuff, boys!" Molly said, "We don't need you to be late!" She gave Ron and Harry pointed looks. It seemed they'd been late before in some way. As they bustled to get all of the items on the train, Alex searched around for his family.

"Alex!" There he was. Draco was leaning out of a window, giving a wave. Alex trotted over and craned his neck to look his brother in the eyes.

"I knew you were my big brother, but I didn't think you'd get this big!"

"Oh shut up!" Draco was smiling, though, "How's it been with Potter and the Weasleys?"

"Pretty good. I asked Fred to make sure you get the address so you can send me letters. Try not to be so mean this year?" Draco snorted.

"We'll see, Alex." He pointed down the train, "Mother and Father were that way, if you want to give them a goodbye." Alex nodded, and then they grasped hands, as if to give handshakes.

"Just promise you'll be careful." Alex asked, "It's hard enough with you going to school; living away from the Manor is the worst."

"You too." Draco said, "You're in much more danger than I am. Look out for yourself." Alex gave a shaky smile.

"'Bye, Draco." He let go. It was about this time that the train gave a whistle, signaling it was about to shove off. Alex waved to his brother as the train moved and Draco waved back. Alex kept waving until he couldn't see his brother anymore, then looked in the direction Draco had indicated. From where he was he could see his parents, with the crowd thinning out, but he realized he couldn't reach over and say goodbye. Not in front of so many people. So when they saw him, all he could do was mouth the words and give a wave before returning to the Weasleys. They waved as well, then they were gone. His father had probably apparated them back. Alex never liked the queasy, squeezed feeling it gave them, but he'd miss it all the same.

_When the War is over and the Dark Lord is dead, I'll go home and stay there._ he vowed.

"There you are!" Molly said when he returned.

"Did you say goodbye?" Arthur seemed to understand what he'd been doing.

"Yeah." Alex nodded, "But not to everyone. Do you mind taking me to Brookland right quick?" Molly looked like she wanted to ask but relented, realizing that he had other friends he'd never see again.

A short while later, Alex was standing outside the school gates, leaning on one of the posts as he searched the incoming children for Tom. Not everyone came in on time and he knew Tom tended to be one of these people. This was his only chance to say goodbye, he knew, and if Tom had decided to get to school early for once, it'd ruin everything. But luckily, running up the street was his best Muggle friend. Alex put on a smile as Tom slowed to a stop in front of him, panting.

"Shouldn't..." gasped Tom, "Shouldn't you be inside?"

"Yeah, but…" Alex looked down and shuffled his feet, "I'm moving."

"What?!" Tom gave him a wide-eyed look, then cast his eyes away sadly, "That means you won't be going here anymore, I guess?" Alex nodded.

"I wanted to still keep in touch, if we could." Alex gave him a piece of paper, "We have a P.O. Box, so you'll have to send anything to that address." The Weasleys, with how close they were to Muggles, had the P.O. Box set up to keep in touch with their Muggle friends and were letting Alex use it for the time being.

"Promise you'll visit, at least?" Tom asked, "They're having this field trip to Italy next summer, I think. You'd love it."

"We'll see." Alex said, a hint of regret in his voice, "'Bye, Tom. I'll miss you."

"'Bye, Al." They hugged, then Tom had to rush inside as the late bell rang. Alex watched him go, then went back to a nearby house. It was going to be one lonely year.


	4. Living in Another's Life (Year 5)

**Dear Readers,**

**Parts of the story are going to have combinations of scenes from both the books and the movies, such as the Battle of the Department of Mysteries in this chapter. It also has the first true AU scene that helps differentiate the stories besides Alex, which will have a big part as the story goes on.**

**Also, it doesn't say in the book what kind of spell Ron was hit with that makes him act kinda drunk so I made up the incantation myself.**

* * *

**1995:**

Alex could never go back home again. Voldemort was back for good now, from what had been heard from Harry, and this was corroborated by the fact that letters to him from his family had ceased altogether. They probably couldn't talk to him with Voldemort staying at the manor and it made Alex's blood boil. He had never met the Dark Lord but from what he'd heard, it must be a terrible experience to be with him, so why was his family supporting You-Know-Who? He couldn't imagine what it was like for Draco right now. And what would go down if Voldemort found out the Malfoys had a second son in hiding? Alex didn't want his family hurt. He was also worried from the last letter Draco had sent him, speaking only just a few words:

'_He's here and he's not acting like father said.'_

It disturbed him, to say the least.

"Alex!" There was a call from downstairs, "Are you ready to go?"

"Coming!" It was the end of the year and he was going to help pick up Harry and the Weasleys, maybe catch a glimpse of his family while he was at it. The thought of his brother filled him both with worry and a hint of laughter. Ron had sent a letter back months ago that told how Moody (actually Barty Crouch Jr. in disguise) turned Draco into the 'Amazing Bouncing Ferret.' Alex would never let his brother live it down, not by a long shot. But he'd only do that when everything was safe again. As it was, he ran down the stairs with practiced ease, avoiding the clutter as he joined Molly and Arthur at the chimney. One Floo Powder later and they were near King's Cross, hurrying to get to the station. It didn't take long to arrive at Platform 9¾, just as the train came in, and soon he was helping unload all the school supplies. He hadn't the first time but decided he might as well do it this time, nervous as he was. He wanted to go looking for Draco, but he also didn't. They needed to keep their distance at this point, as much as it hurt to think about. But maybe just a small peek? It wouldn't hurt, would it? Checking to see that everyone was busy getting the trunks and stuff, he slipped away to look for his family.

Over to the side, there they were, or at least his parents. They were waiting on Draco. Alex hid himself in the crowd and watched as Draco got off the train with his things and went to his parents. He didn't seem as cheery as he usually was, but nowhere near how sad as Harry was. After reaching Lucius and Narcissa, Draco looked around a little, as if he'd gotten the feeling someone was watching him. They spotted each other and paused a moment, taking it all in. Draco raised a hand halfway as if to wave, his mouth opening, but Alex disappeared into the crowd. Everything was okay now. His worry was sated for the moment. He slipped back in with Harry and the Weasleys just as they were doing a headcount and sighed in relief. He had the feeling they might've gotten onto him for looking for his family, especially now that Voldemort was back, but he'd made it just in time.

"You sure you wanna go back to your 'family?'" Ron was asking this, taking Alex out of his thoughts. He looked over to see the two conversing a little, keeping their voices low.

"As much as I wanna stay in the Burrow, I can't. They're my guardians, I have to go home." Harry sighed, tinged with anger.

"Alex managed it."

"He doesn't count." Harry said, "No offense to you, Alex." Ron jumped, as if he'd forgotten Alex was standing nearby. The blond shrugged.

"It's okay, I understand." He sat down beside them, as they'd been taking up a bench while they spoke, "So you have to go back to your Muggle family?" Alex had heard of the Dursleys. If he's had to stay in their presence for too long he was sure he'd blow the top off the building before the day was over.

"Unfortunately." Harry grumbled, "But as it gets close to school I can go back to the Burrow, so it's not bad." Alex nodded.

"Well, good luck." He got back up and headed out of Platform 9¾. He knew his way back to the building they'd been using for transportation and he was 15 now, he could handle himself. He couldn't help but feel bad for and envy Harry in some ways. He felt bad because of the Dursleys, but he also envied Harry for having a somewhat normal life during the summer. Alex wouldn't trade the Malfoys for anything, he never wanted to leave them, but sometimes he wished he could be a Muggle. He wouldn't have to worry about magic, about Voldemort, or anything in the Wizarding World. He barely belonged as it was, there was no reason other than his family, his friends, and his Obscurus that made it impossible.

One day, he'd be cured. He could live a normal wizard life then, right? He'd tried using a wand once, a discarded one he'd found on his hunts to find Muggle things, but the second he swished it, it exploded in his hand. He'd had to have Draco's help to take out the splinters but lied, only saying he'd tried to climb a tree and failed. It was probably because of his Obscurus that he couldn't handle one, right? He _could_ be a wizard one day… He wasn't different, wasn't a freak, right?

Right?

* * *

It was close to school starting again and Alex was in the middle of doing his chores when he was called over by Fred and George.

"Hey, you ever de-gnomed a garden, Alex?" asked George.

"No." Alex shook his head, even as a bad feeling settled in his stomach.

"It's fun! Here, we'll show you!" Fred added. They led him out to the garden and Alex could see small creatures hiding in holes in the garden, holes he was _sure_ weren't there yesterday.

"We have to throw 'em out every-so-often, since Dad doesn't like banning 'em out of the garden, so they keep coming back." explained Fred.

"It's a great sport, once you know what you're doing." added George. Alex watched as they got the gnomes out of their holes and threw them over the hedge by their legs, hearing small 'oofs' on the other side when the gnomes landed. It really did seem like fun, especially since they weren't hurting the gnomes, so he decided to join them.

"We could just get a Jarvey to keep 'em out," George went on, "but they eat gnomes and say a lot of nasty things, so we don't have one."

"Imagine leaving one in the house for Mum, though!" Fred said. They shared a chuckle at that. Alex silently agreed, having met a Jarvey once and not wanting to encounter another. Alex listened to their chatter as they all worked, thinking about how close he'd gotten to the Weasley clan over the past year. They'd become close to him, especially Fred and George, though he hadn't known them as long. Maybe it was because they were his Secret-Keepers, how they actively tried to cheer him up, or just their fun, friendly nature in general. They made him fit in, as he still wasn't completely comfortable with their parents despite spending a year there. Molly and Arthur were great at giving him love, a home, and everything he could want (which wasn't much, honestly), but they weren't Lucius and Narcissa. Even though his own parents weren't the best people to him, they were still _his_ parents and he missed them terribly.

"Alex?"

"Hm?" The blond looked up, having been doing things automatically while he was thinking. He looked over to the brothers, seeing them staring at him worriedly, and he gave them a fake smile, "What is it?"

"You okay?" Fred dusted off his hands from throwing the last gnome over the hedge.

"Yeah." Alex looked up at the sky, where it was starting to get dark, "Just thinking about Mum, Dad, and Draco." The twins nodded.

"I'm sure they're okay." said George.

"The Malfoys are nasty enough to get by somehow." Fred added, "Even if You-Know-Who is staying with them."

"I guess." Alex still didn't cheer up and so the twins shared a look.

"I've got an idea." George went over to Alex and rested his hands on the boy's shoulders, "Come up to our room. I'm sure we can make you happy somehow."

"Where all the explosions come from?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

"As long as you don't touch anything, you'll be fine." Fred assured, though he did give his brother a small questioning look.

"...Alright." The teen's dark feeling increased as he agreed. But the brothers wouldn't put him in danger, right? There hadn't been a false sense of trust and security, he was sure. He was just as good as sensing that kind of thing as he was at masking his feelings. As it was, he followed Fred and George into the Burrow and up to their room, entering it with a keen wariness and a healthy dose of caution. There were all sorts of lab things and joke boxes around, evidence of their efforts to make magical pranks.

"We've been making these a while, 'specially thanks to Harry's loan, and we're thinking of starting up the business as soon as we get out of school." said Fred.

"Just remember not to touch anything." George added. They then ducked under some of the clutter in the room to find something for him. He glanced around, honestly wondering what kind of things they'd made just over the summer alone. Spotting a long box, he bit his lip. They'd told him not to touch anything and his own sense of caution was strong but was quickly being overridden by curiosity. He picked it up and examined it, finding it to be shaped similar to a telescope, and so put it up to his eye. He couldn't see anything at the other end. Briefly he considered putting it down but his curiosity was too strong, and so he pulled it a little, squeezing it in the process. The squeezing activated the mechanism inside, where a tiny punching glove popped out and poked him in the eye. It hurt and surprised him enough to the point that his Obscurus bubbled up, hissing at the threat. He tried to tamp down on it, knowing there was nothing to be afraid of, but the creature had grown since the last time it had appeared, it wanted to get out and was clawing its way to the surface. He held his head, a headache beginning to form from fighting it.

"Al-?"

"Outside. **NOW**." The twins realized what was going on and quickly ushered him to the window, using _Wingardium Leviosa_ on his clothes to help him to the ground before ushering him to an area where his powers wouldn't hurt anyone. They ran into the cornfield and it was by that time Alex couldn't hold it in anymore. He cried out in pain as the Obscurus burst out, not consuming him completely as it had all the times before. Alex was on his knees, eyes glowing white as he panted and the Obscurus writhed above him, looking for something to tear apart. Because of the Fidelius Charm it was invisible to all except those who knew the secret and Fred and George were surprised by this. They'd only seen the Obscurus, they'd never seen Alex away from it before, so something was going on. Suddenly the Obscurus paused, slowly swirling in the air, and then it lashed out, barely missing the twins by inches. Alex cried out in pain again and the Obscurus writhed, folding in on itself as it seemed to spasm in pain. When it stopped it paused again and Alex dropped to his side, panting. Slowly the Obscurus returned to his body and eventually it was gone. The twins slowly approached, wanting to help but being very careful around the boy.

"Alex?" George asked, voice barely above a whisper. Alex opened his eyes and they were back to being brown again.

"Put warning signs on your jokes next time." He hissed, sitting up and holding his head. It still hurt but the Obscurus was gone.

"We told you-"

"I know, I know." Alex breathed, trying to catch up, "Curiosity was too strong."

"How are you feeling?" asked Fred. Alex glared and the redhead winced, "Headache, huh?"

"More like a migraine." He lowered his head.

"But what was that? Has that ever happened before?" George questioned.

"No." Alex shook his head and groaned as he quickly regretted it.

"Let's get you back inside and we'll talk later." Fred suggested, giving his brother a look, "Pretty sure it was a bad idea in the first place..."

"Then why didn't you say anything?" George growled.

"How was I supposed to know that would happen?!"

"Guys..." Alex snarled darkly. The twins quickly turned back to him and helped him up, sneaking him back into the Burrow. They took him up to his room, splitting up for a moment as George went to grab the boy some chocolate to help him calm down along with some bruise removal paste. When he returned, he gently put the paste on Alex's bruised eye before offering him the chocolate. Alex, with one eye closed, gave him a questioning look.

"Kept hitting ourselves when testing the thing and healing magic didn't work, so we had to make our own thing to get rid of the bruises." George explained.

"It'll be gone in an hour." Fred said, "Feel better?"

"Yeah." Alex yawned, suddenly feeling very sleepy.

"Lay down a while, get some sleep."

"Okay..." Alex did so and it didn't take long for him to be knocked out. After a moment Fred turned on his brother.

"What was in that chocolate? What did you do?"

"Just some Dreamless Sleep, help with his migraine and stuff." George glanced down at Alex, "He was gonna freak out after his migraine went away and we didn't need him changing again or doing whatever it was he did earlier. He'll be calmed down after he gets some sleep, right?"

"Or he could be pissed and try to kill us."

"We promised to protect him, Fred, and that means protecting him from himself, too." George went over and put some cover over Alex, "We'll ask him first thing in the morning about what happened and try to sort it out. For right now, just let him sleep." There really wasn't a way to wake Alex once he'd taken the potion, so Fred had no choice but to leave. He did have some choice words for George, though, as they returned to their room and resolved to put a small shield charm on everything, just in case someone else got curious enough to test something (which was unlikely but still).

* * *

When morning came, Alex was groggy. It had been a long time since he'd gotten any sleep like that. When he sat up, he noticed he was still in the clothes he'd been wearing yesterday. He was confused at first, then remembered he'd fallen asleep. It also reminded him of what had happened, causing him to wince. It probably wasn't too bad because of the Fidelius Charm but he'd still unleashed the Obscurus. And yet, he hadn't completely lost himself to it, unlike so many times before. He'd still stayed himself and could feel the Obscurus as something separate for once. Maybe because it wasn't a bad event, just a surprise? And if he could stay himself like that, was it possible he could gain some control over the Obscurus? He had to try, at least. If he could control it then he would be one step closer to being normal. As it was, he changed clothes and went looking for the twins to talk to them, wanting to know what happened from their point of view. He was a lot more cautious when approaching their room, knocking before he entered.

"Coming!" There was some shuffling before the door was opened by Fred. He blinked, as if surprised to see Alex, then gave a smile, "How was your nap?"

"I slept all night and I feel great for once." Alex shrugged, "So, what happened when I went, y'know..?" Alex gestured for Fred to speak.

"Don't you remember?"

"I do, just wanna know your side of things." Fred gave a slow nod.

"Well, you were still there, but the Obscurus was out, too. Then it attacked us, but not for long." Fred said, "Do you know what happened?"

"Not really." Alex shook his head, "I think maybe because I'm older, maybe because it wasn't really dangerous..." He shrugged again, "I honestly don't know. But I think, with some practice, I could control it."

"_Absolutely not_." Fred was immediately against it. Alex crossed his arms.

"And why not?"

"We don't know what could happen to you!" Fred protested, "What if it tries to hurt you?"

"It won't. I'm the host, a parasite doesn't kill the host when the host tries to get rid of it or, in this case, control it." Alex said, "If I can control it, it would make our lives a whole lot better. There might not even be a need for Secret-Keepers if I can control it and keep it from hurting people, destroying things." He held himself a little, "You have no idea how great this could be if I can do it." Fred was frowning.

"I don't know, Alex. If you try doing this, it'll probably happen during the school year and Mum and Dad don't know about what you are. Anything happens and we'll all be in trouble."

"I've got a plan, though. Since I couldn't be sent to a magical school, I went to Brookland and found this martial arts place that taught me how to defend myself and control things through meditation. I didn't do much of it, but if I can use meditation to help control the Obscurus, then it'll be good for everyone!" Fred was silent for a moment, then sighed.

"Okay, fine." He stepped out of the room past Alex, "But I'm leaving soon. Mum and Dad want us to move to another place before the school year starts."

"Why?" Fred paused.

"I don't know if I can tell you." Alex raised an eyebrow.

"And why not?"

"Fidelius Charm again. I don't see why you couldn't come, though, so I'll try talking to the guys over there. You might have to come anyway because I think Mum and Dad aren't gonna let anyone stay here."

"Because it's dangerous?" asked Alex. Fred shrugged.

"Maybe. I think it's mostly because of Harry, though."

"Why him?"

"Let's just say he has a bad habit of getting into trouble. _A lot_." Alex snorted.

"I can see that. How bad was it this time?"

"Bad enough that the Ministry of Magic had to get involved." Alex gave a whistle.

"What did he _do_?"

"Defended himself is all." Fred snorted, "The Ministry didn't believe it until Dumbledore had to come in and testify for him." Alex frowned.

"That's harsh."

"They're a whole bunch o' bigots, Alex. Of course they're harsh, even to the Boy-Who-Lived."

"Boys!" Molly was calling them.

"Just give me a chance to try it." Alex pleaded, "I'm not gonna do anything big, I promise." Fred stared at him hard, not moving, hard to tell emotionally. Eventually he gave a small sigh and nodded.

"Alright, but not there, not where we're going. Wait until you get home before you try doing anything of the sort."

"Don't have to tell me twice." Alex muttered before they headed downstairs.

* * *

It was the beginning of April when Alex received a letter addressed to him from Harry. Usually the other teen didn't send him letters but this one was addressed directly to him, so it must have been important. It was some sort of encryption that he couldn't understand but he was more Muggle-oriented than most non-muggleborn wizards and so he was able to figure it out pretty quickly, reading the letter as thus:

'_Dear Alex,_

'_I'd like you to come join us at Hogwarts for a brief time and help teach Dumbledore's Army. It's a group I created to teach _real _DADA with Voldemort's return. Fred confided to me about how you're trying to control your powers, so would you please come and help us learn about Obscurials and Obscuri?_

'_Please send back your response encrypted if you can or can't come. We'll be waiting._

'_Signed, Harry_

'_P.S., Blame Hermione for the 'Obscurials and Obscuri' line. She proofread over everything and that's why it's so formal.'_

Alex snorted at the last part of the letter but contemplated Harry's offer. He'd made a lot of progress is understanding and controlling his Obscurus, that was true, and helping teach others about how to defend themselves in these times was a rare but extremely helpful thing. The only trouble was not to be discovered by Umbridge (the horrible new DADA teacher), Draco, or Molly and Arthur. They'd installed a new hand in the clock downstairs to help keep track of him but he could easily bug the clock to not show where he'd gone and avoiding Umbridge? Piece of cake. Draco was the only major thing he'd have trouble with but he had the feeling he could handle it well and so wrote a response back to Harry. The only thing on his mind was that his secret would be shared in confidentiality. He didn't want anyone sharing it that shouldn't, even though the only ones who could share it were Fred and George. If it was used against him, he'd make sure people knew that it wouldn't end well if they did. And getting to Hogwarts? If he was right, it wouldn't be a problem.

* * *

"I'd ask how you got here so quickly, but I don't think I want to know." Hermione said upon seeing him.

After getting a response, he'd sabotaged the clock and left right away, manipulating his Obscurus form enough to fly to Hogwarts. It was very stressful but he managed, landing on the grounds and entering before taking a break to deal with the headache that had formed. Any time he had to deal with his Obscurus it caused headaches or migraines, depending on how severe it was. After resting a moment he snatched some extra robes from near the kitchen, yellow and black. He then made his way up to the tower and waited outside the Gryffindor Common Room for any of the Golden Trio to arrive. Because he looked like a student, no one gave him a second glance except for a few that had a strange 'I' pinned to their robes. It was then he remembered how it was mentioned in a few letters how Umbridge had created an Inquisitorial Squad to help deal with any 'rule-breaking' in the school. Luckily for Alex, they left him alone and soon enough Hermione left the Common Room and saw him.

"Have any Aspirin or something for headaches?" Hermione shook her head.

"Well, you can follow me. A meeting's just about to start." Alex nodded. They walked together down to the seventh floor and down an empty corridor. Alex raised an eyebrow in question as they walked by it several times before a set of thick doors appeared, large but welcoming. Hermione smiled at the surprise on his face before opening the door.

"Welcome to the Room of Requirement." she announced. Inside were a large group of people practicing on Death Eater dummies on wheels. Even with Hermione's words few turned to look at them, so focused on their tasks.

"'Mione! Alex!" Ron and Harry went over to join them.

"That was fast." Harry's words echoed Hermione's. Alex shrugged.

"Don't worry about it." The blond glanced around, "So this is the DA, huh?"

"Someone had to teach people how to defend themselves if Umbridge wasn't going to." Harry said, "So, Fred and George told people about what you could do so that they could see the Obscurus. You think you'll be able to control it enough to give us a few demonstrations?"

"Definitely." As they separated a little to gather the rest of Dumbledore's Army for the demonstration, Ron noticed something about Alex.

"Something wrong?"

"No." Alex shook his head, "Just thinking about Draco."

"That prick?" Alex gave him a glare, "Sorry."

"How is he?"

"Doing pretty good, actually. He joined Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad and is helping her out really well. Also abuses that power like the prick he is."

"'Course he would." Alex leaned against one of the pillars, "Anything about my family?" Ron shook his head.

"No idea."

"Alright." Alex nodded, "Thanks for telling me, at least."

"No problem."

"Okay everyone!" The group was now gathered around, ready for the demonstration. Harry began explaining, "This is Alex, the guy we told you about. Inside him is an Obscurus, what we told you about. You probably won't ever have to fight one, but this will be an introduction to one to help you understand how dangerous they can be." Harry nodded to Alex, "Ready?"

"Yep." The blond glanced down and saw that some of them had their wands ready, mostly the ones who had seen him as an Obscurus before, causing him to give a grim smile. He wasn't surprised in the least, even glad that they were taking such precautions. Turning back to the dummies, Alex took a few deep breaths, calming himself before he dug deep inside and took out the Obscurus, asking it to cooperate with him. Of course it gave a disapproving hiss but relented, coming out of his body in a wave and hovering about him, ready for his commands. There were a few gasps but Alex ignored them, directing the Obscurus to destroy the dummies. It lashed out, tearing the wood to pieces and breaking the metal, demolishing the dummies in seconds. It then returned to Alex and he rubbed his temples as his head began to hurt from the use.

"Was that good?" he asked.

"Great." assured Hermione. Alex moved off to the side as Harry explained more about the Obscurus with lots of input from Hermione. Alex would give his two cents at some points but eventually the group seemed to understand what an Obscurus was and what it could do. As for how to deal with it…

"You can't destroy an Obscurus, but you can kill the host." Alex explained, "Once you kill the host, the Obscurus dies and disappears, so it does everything it can to save the host. If you ever encounter an Obscurus, don't try to use spells on it. You'll only make it madder because they're impervious to spells." Alex knew this from experience, as he could remember bits and pieces back during the Quidditch World Cup, when wizards and witches had tried to strike him with spells but they bounced off, not affecting him at all.

"Then what can we do?" Alex glanced up, finding it was Ginny who asked.

"Honestly? Do whatever you can to..." Alex trailed off, frowning. Was it just him, or were the mirrors shaking? He glanced around, finding other mirrors doing the same in intervals, which seemed to attract the attention of the rest of the group.

"Someone's trying to get in!"

"Umbridge knows we're here!"

"Alex, you need to go!" George snapped. The blond didn't need telling twice. Right after Alex completely dissolved into his Obscurus form one of the walls busted down, revealing the Inquisitorial Squad and Umbridge. Alex wasn't surprised to see his brother leading the group, more disappointed, really. Even though his Obscurus form was masked by the Fidelius Charm, Draco knew his secret and was still able to see him. This caused Draco's eyes to widen at the sight of the Obscurus, but by then it was flying out of the room and escaping. He stared after it as Umbridge started rounding up Dumbledore's Army.

"Draco! Don't just stand there!"

"Y-yes ma'am." With one last glance, Draco went to help round up the group. Alex's appearance seemed to have a profound effect on him, however.

* * *

'_Dear Alex,_

'_Thanks for coming, at least. You seemed to remind Draco to be a bit more human, so he's not been as mean to us. Maybe you should come more often._

'_Signed, Hermione'_

Alex studied the letter, then threw it on the desk. He'd barely done anything and now the group was disbanded. He hadn't made a difference, no matter how much Hermione, Ron, and Harry emphasized it. Over a month had passed since his visit, barely avoiding getting grounded by Molly, and he didn't feel better about his contribution. In fact, he felt worse, as if he'd been the one to lead Umbridge to the DA, even if he really hadn't. He was also a little anxious, as Fred and George had recently left Hogwarts with a bang and had disappeared. There'd been no letters from them and it caused Alex to worry. He'd grown close to the twins in the short time he'd known them, as they truly treated him like part of the family and he considered them like his older brothers. Not knowing where they were, if they were okay or not, was grating on his nerves.

He went through his letters again, a large pile having built up on the desk from his short correspondence with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and even a few from the rest of Dumbledore's Army, thanking him for helping, even if things hadn't ended well. At the very bottom of the pile was an unopened one, the newest one, and he was hesitant to open it. It was addressed as _Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes_ and was likely from the missing twins, but Alex didn't want to open it and get his hopes up. There were other Weasleys, cousins and such, so who knows who it could be from? And yet, he had to open it eventually. Might as well try now, while he was going through his mail again. Opening it revealed official stationary, orange with purple highlights and ink, addressed straight to him. Inside was also a pass.

'_Dear Alex,_

'_We've been working long and hard on our products, as you know, and we finally perfected them just before we left Hogwarts. Inside is a pass that lets you get a discount on anything in our new store. Come by and see us soon, we wanna know what you think of the place!_

'_Signed, Fred & George_

'_P.S., Don't tell Ron about the pass. Harry's the only other person who's getting any kind of discount in our store and that's because he funded us._

'_P.S.S., Stay away from the boxing telescopes. Don't want you getting pissed at us again now do we?'_

Alex grinned, snorting before turning the pass over in his hand. He was mischievous at times, but not like the twins. He tried to stay out of trouble if he could but he knew they had certain products that were also as practical as they were jokes. He might get a few things if he ever went by.

Suddenly, there was a small _pop_ and Alex froze. Someone had come into the room and he didn't like the vulnerable position he was in, back turned to the rest of the room. He closed his eyes and quickly gathered the Obscurus, preparing for a counterattack-

"Master Alex!" It took a lot of willpower to push the Obscurus back down when he realized whose voice he was hearing.

"Dobby?" He turned in his chair to see the house elf, disbelief clear in his voice, "Is it really you? I haven't seen you in ages."

"Master Alex, there is no time to speak! Harry Potter is in danger and Dobby thinks you can help!"

"Me?" Alex was astonished at this, "I can't use a wand, Dobby-"

"Doesn't matter! Master Alex asked Dobby to save Harry Potter, now Dobby asks Master Alex to help!" The blond was silent for a moment, as if thinking about it, then nodded.

"Let's go." He grabbed Dobby's hand and the house elf snapped his fingers, teleporting them to wherever they needed to be. They appeared in a long corridor Alex had never seen before but it gave him a dark feeling, stirring the Obscurus inside him. He turned to the house elf, asking, "Dobby, where-?" But the elf was gone. Alex stared at the spot, left alone in a dimly-lit corridor, and wondered if this was some sort of revenge the house elf was trying to enact on the Malfoy family, despite Alex having been the nicest to him out of the four. Shaking his head, Alex prepared to change and find a way out when he heard footsteps running down the corridor.

"_Stupefy!_" With a flick of his wrist, part of the Obscurus came out and swallowed the red light like it was nothing but a piece of popcorn. Because the Obscurus was a force that needed neither darkness or light to see, Alex could use it to see clearly in the dark, finding Harry, Ron, Hermione, and some of their friends approaching him.

"Stop! It's just me, it's Alex!" he cried. He didn't retract the Obscurus, however, hoping they could see his eyes in the darkness. It was a peculiar thing he'd discovered whenever he summoned his Obscurus whilst in human form. When it was out and he was still human, he eyes glowed white until it returned. Quite strange but also a teller to anyone who knew about Obscuri. To his relief, the gang lowered their wands and so he returned the Obscurus, being forced into the darkness again with the exception of the group using _Lumos_ to light their way.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" Ron demanded.

"Ask Dobby. He said Harry needed my help."

"Well, either way, we need to keep moving and find the Department of Mysteries." Harry commanded, giving Alex a confused but somewhat understanding look. Alex followed behind them, bringing out part of his Obscurus again as a watchdog. Because it had no eyes, it could easily see in all directions and hovered above them, searching for enemies. However, it was hard for Alex to walk while using the Obscurus and so Ginny helped lead him, one hand firmly gripping Alex's arm. At the end of the corridor they reached a round room that held twelve doors, presumably to other places in the Ministry.

"How are we gonna know which one's the right one?" Neville asked. Alex had learned his name and Luna's shortly after being welcomed into the group again.

"We could split up and peek into each." Luna suggested, "One of them has to be right." So that's what they did, each taking a door and opening it, looking inside for the contents. Yet the one Ron picked wouldn't budge, no matter what kind of spell he used on it.

"Must be something dangerous in there, I'm guessing." Alex mused.

"Nevermind, this room looks like the one from my dreams." Harry called them over, "Let's go through here." The group followed him and then through another door, leading to a huge room filled with shelves, which were covered with all sorts of softly glowing, misty balls. Alex had to return his Obscurus for a moment, rubbing his temples from the excessive use. He'd rarely brought it out for over five minutes before, but the practice was paying off.

"What is this place?" Ginny wondered.

"I dunno, but it's where my dream was. Sirius should just be ahead!" Alex glanced up, surprised. When he'd briefly been sent to 12 Grimmauld Place and met the Order of the Phoenix with the rest of the Weasley children, he'd also met Harry's scraggly godfather. The blond teen wasn't too surprised that Harry was willing to go so far for the only man he considered true family to him and so didn't say anything as he followed the group deeper into the mysterious room. They soon come to the area where Harry was sure Sirius had been attacked, but there was no sign or clue that either had been there. No blood, no destruction, nothing, only a single glass orb with Harry's name on it, as well as the Dark Lord's. As Hermione told Harry not to pick it up, Alex heard a faint gasp and looked around. The orbs gave some light, but not enough to brighten up all the corners and so he took out his Obscurus again. His eyes widened at what he saw.

"Stop!" he shouted, but it was too late. Harry had already picked up the orb and Death Eaters began to come out of the shadows, led by none other than Alex's own father, Lucius. They locked eyes for a moment, something like a tinge of pain in Lucius' eyes before the older Malfoy focused on Harry. The Obscurus silently hissed at the danger, convulsing a moment before Alex managed to calm it. Things were tense and they certainly didn't need a rogue Obscurus complicating things right now.

"Kindly give me that orb, Potter." said Lucius in a sneer, holding out a hand.

"Where's Sirius?" demanded Harry, ignoring the command. Several Death Eaters laughed, including one witch who sounded like she should be locked up in St. Mungo's.

"The Dark Lord always knows!" said the witch.

"Always." echoed Lucius, "Now, give me the prophecy, Potter."

"I want to know where Sirius is!"

"_I want to know where Sirius is!_" mimicked the woman to Harry's left, causing the Death Eaters to chuckle again. They were now close enough that the lights of their wands would've blinded Alex if he wasn't using his Obscurus. As it was, he got a closer look at the figures around them and couldn't make out much, as many of them wore masks, with the exception of Lucius and the witch. Alex flinched back as he quickly realized who she was and his Obscurus hissed at the danger. Not only was he facing off against his father, he was also against his 'aunt' that he'd only ever heard of and swore to avoid.

"You've got him." Harry went on, "He's here, I know he is."

"_The little baby woke up fwightened and fort what it dweamed was twoo._" Alex's aunt mocked again. One of the other teens must've stirred, for Harry then said, "Don't do anything, not yet —" The witch laughed again.

"You hear him? _You hear him?_ Giving instructions to the other children as though he thinks of fighting us!"

"Oh, you don't know Potter as I do, Bellatrix," said Lucius softly, trying very hard not to look at Alex, "He has a great weakness for heroics; the Dark Lord understands this about him. _Now give me the prophecy, Potter._"

"I know Sirius is here, _I know you've got him!_" Harry looked like he was either about to have a panic attack or lunge at Lucius. Alex wouldn't stop him either way, unless he deliberately tried to kill his father, which was a possibility in this situation. The Death Eaters laughed again. Lucius tightened the grip on his wand.

"It's time you learned the difference between life and dreams, Potter. Now give me the prophecy, or we start using wands."

"Go on, then." The group raised their wands but no one struck out. The air was still rife with tension and the Obscurus was not responding well to it.

"Hand over the prophecy and no one need get hurt." said Malfoy coolly. He was the only one of the Death Eaters that knew the danger they were truly in and it seemed he was doing everything to avoid it, glancing every-so-often at Alex worriedly. The blond boy raised an eyebrow but didn't make a sound, concentrating on keeping his Obscurus under control. He glanced over in surprise when Harry began to laugh.

"Yeah, right!" he said. "I give you this — prophecy, is it? And you'll just let us skip off home, will you?" It was then Bellatrix tried to strike.

"_Accio Proph_ —"

"_Protego!_" Harry was quicker, bringing up the shield before she could finish. He barely missed losing the orb.

"Oh, he knows how to play, little bitty baby Potter," she said, her mad eyes staring through the slits in her hood. "Very well, then —"

"I TOLD YOU, NO!" Lucius roared at the woman. "If you smash it — !" He then flinched, glancing at Alex. The tension was enough that the outburst hadn't startled Alex, forcing him to expect it, but he couldn't say the same if it happened again. Bellatrix then stepped forward, pulling off her hood.

"You need more persuasion?" she said, her chest rising and falling rapidly. "Very well — take the smallest one," she ordered the Death Eaters beside her. "Let him watch while we torture the little girl. I'll do it." She was pointing at Ginny, who was still holding Alex's arm. The blond narrowed his eyes, _daring _anyone to try attacking. Lucius looked ready to speak up and stop her but Harry did first, holding up the orb.

"You'll have to smash this if you want to attack any of us," he told Bellatrix. "I don't think your boss will be too pleased if you come back without it, will he?" This made Bellatrix pause. Lucius gave Harry a grateful look as the dark-haired teen went on, "So, what kind of prophecy are we talking about anyway?" Harry sounded braver than Alex did, the blond was sure. He could sense how they were all nervous or afraid in some way.

"What kind of prophecy?" repeated Bellatrix, grin fading from her face, "You jest, Harry Potter."

"Nope, not jesting," said Harry, everyone looking for a way to escape, "How come Voldemort wants it?" The Death Eaters hissed.

"You dare speak his name?" whispered Bellatrix.

"Yeah," said Harry, maintaining his tight grip on the glass ball, expecting another attempt to bewitch it from him. "Yeah, I've got no problem saying Vol —"

"Shut your mouth!" Bellatrix shrieked. "You dare speak his name with your unworthy lips, you dare besmirch it with your half-blood's tongue, you dare —"

"Did you know he's a half-blood too?" said Harry recklessly. Hermione gave a little moan in his ear, Alex rolling his eyes and knowing that Harry was sending Bellatrix over the edge, "Voldemort? Yeah, his mother was a witch but his dad was a Muggle — or has he been telling you lot he's pureblood?"

"_STUPEF_ —"

"_NO!_" Whether it was to protect the prophecy or prevent Bellatrix from setting Alex off, Lucius deflected Bellatrix's spell, where it hit another shelf and broke some of the orbs. Pearly-white beings, similar to ghosts, drifted out of the remains, murmuring and whispering what could only be their own prophecies, never to be heard again.

"DO NOT ATTACK! WE NEED THE PROPHECY!"

"He dared — he dares —" shrieked Bellatrix incoherently. "— He stands there — filthy half-blood —"

"WAIT UNTIL WE'VE GOT THE PROPHECY!" Lucius looked ready to choke her out for her insolence but held back. As the prophecy being faded away, Harry shifted on his feet and Alex got the feeling he'd gotten an idea.

"You haven't told me what's so special about this prophecy I'm supposed to be handing over," he said, his foot moving again.

"Do not play games with us, Potter," said Malfoy.

"I'm not playing games," said Harry. A sharp intake of breath behind him told Alex Harry had stepped on Hermione's foot.

"What?" she whispered.

"Dumbledore never told you that the reason you bear that scar was hidden in the bowels of the Department of Mysteries?" said Malfoy sneeringly.

"I — what?" said Harry, and for a moment he quite forgot his plan, "What about my scar?"

"_What_?" whispered Hermione more urgently behind him.

"Can this be?" said Malfoy, sounding maliciously delighted; some of the Death Eaters were laughing again, and under cover of their laughter, Harry hissed to Hermione, "Smash shelves —"

"Dumbledore never told you?" Malfoy repeated, "Well, this explains why you didn't come earlier, Potter, the Dark Lord wondered why —"

"— when I say go —"

"— you didn't come running when he showed you the place where it was hidden in your dreams. He thought natural curiosity would make you want to hear the exact wording..."

"Did he?" said Harry. Hermione was passing his message to the others and he sought to keep talking, to distract the Death Eaters, "So he wanted me to come and get it, did he? Why?"

"_Why_?" Lucius wanted to sound delighted but there was something in his voice holding him back, making it more monotone even as he went on, "Because the only people who are permitted to retrieve a prophecy from the Department of Mysteries, Potter, are those about whom it was made, as the Dark Lord discovered when he attempted to use others to steal it for him."

"And why did he want to steal a prophecy about me?"

"About both of you, Potter, about both of you ...Haven't you ever wondered why the Dark Lord tried to kill you as a baby?" Alex glanced at his father. It felt like Lucius was building up into one of his big speeches he liked to do so much, but Alex himself was truly curious. So there _was_ a reason why Harry was attacked by Voldemort?

"Someone made a prophecy about Voldemort and me?" he said quietly, "And he's made me come and get it for him? Why couldn't he come and get it himself?"

"Get it himself?" shrieked Bellatrix on a cackle of mad laughter, "The Dark Lord, walk into the Ministry of Magic, when they are so sweetly ignoring his return? The Dark Lord, reveal himself to the Aurors, when at the moment they are wasting their time on my dear cousin?"

"So he's got you doing his dirty work for him, has he?" said Harry, "Like he tried to get Sturgis to steal it — and Bode?"

"Very good, Potter, very good..." said Lucius slowly, "But the Dark Lord knows you are not unintell —"

"NOW!" yelled Harry.

_Damn it Harry!_ thought Alex, _Just when it was getting good!_ He ducked as the group started casting at the shelves, causing a chain reaction. The shelves they hit started to fall over into the next shelf and the Hall of Prophecy looked like it was about to fall apart.

"RUN!" Harry yelled and the group didn't need to be told twice. As spheres rained from above, they scrambled to get out from the group of Death Eaters. Ginny still had a tight grip on Alex's arm and led them on. To help, he used his Obscurus to keep any prophecies or shelves from falling on their heads, expanding to cover Ron and Luna when they joined the small group. Harry, Hermione, and Neville were rows over and ducked into another room, leaving them with the Death Eaters. They probably had no idea that the group was separated, so Alex, Ron, Ginny, and Luna would have to fend for themselves.

"Ah!" Ginny cried out and Alex was brought down with her to the ground. He shuddered as he nearly lost control of the Obscurus but kept a hold, bringing it down as a shield between them and any spells that might come their way. Ginny hissed and held her ankle as Luna and Ron came back for them.

"Ginny!"

"I'm- I'm fine, just a sprained ankle." she said. Alex glanced over and found that she'd tripped over one of the orbs that still rained down on them. He was lucky to not have sprained an ankle himself.

"Here, I can-"

"Let me." Alex offered. He took Ginny into his arms but had to retract his Obscurus so he could see, "I'll carry her and you can lead the way. I have my Obscurus but I don't have a wand. And if they dare to hurt me, well," he gave a dark smile, "Dad's still looking out for me. I'll be fine and make sure she's safe." Ron looked like he wanted to argue but they didn't have the time and so they kept running, soon finding another door and ducking inside.

"Where are the others?" Luna gasped, catching her breath after locking the door with _Colloportus_.

"They went to another room." Alex panted, "I think it was the Time Chamber. Where are we?"

"Looks like the Space Chamber." Ginny pointed up at the planets that spun above them.

"I wish Hermione was here." Ron said, "She'd fix your ankle and we'd be on our way."

"For right now, let's get out of here. The door won't hold the Death Eaters for long." said Alex. They started to move when the door smashed open behind them

"_Prote_-"

"_Ebrius!_" Ron was stricken by a yellowish light and fell to the ground. When Ron tried to get to his feet, he stumbled and groaned, as if in pain or that he couldn't control his limbs.

_He looks drunk._ Alex thought. He'd seen the effects of drunkenness before from firewhisky and this was no different. Luna helped Ron to his feet as four Death Eaters came through the door, wands at the ready.

"_REDUCTO!_" Luna blasted one of the planets right above the Death Eaters, causing it to collapse upon them. They ran out of the room the best they could, leaving their enemies to their fate, and found themselves in a hallway. On the other side were Neville, Harry, and Hermione, Neville carrying the girl while his nose bled. They didn't look in too bad a shape from the separation, thankfully. Ron giggled weakly and then stumbled over to Harry. Alex was quite sure the curse had made him drunk somehow.

"Harry, there you are... Ha ha ha ...You look funny, Harry...You're all messed up..." Ron's knees then gave way but Harry was able to help him keep standing.

"Ginny? What happened?" The girl could only shake her head, pale as could be.

"Think she's got a sprained ankle." Alex said, a hint of guilt in his voice, "She was helping me..."

"Regret later, we need to get out of here." Harry said. Alex looked at him and found that he felt just as guilty, that he hadn't been there to protect them, and Alex understood. He nodded as Luna moved to examine Ginny, speaking up.

"Four of them chased us into a dark room full of planets, it was a very odd place, some of the time we were just floating in the dark —"

"Harry, we saw Uranus up close!" said Ron, still giggling feebly, "Get it, Harry? We saw Uranus — ha ha ha —" Alex hadn't seen much wrong with Ron after he'd gotten hit by the spell but it seemed the redhead may have been bleeding from his mouth as a side-effect. Hopefully there wasn't any internal damage.

"And what about Ron?" said Harry fearfully, as Ron continued to giggle, still hanging off Harry's front.

"I don't know what they hit him with," said Luna sadly, "but he's gone a bit funny."

"He acts like he's drunk." added Alex.

"Harry," said Ron, pulling Harry's ear down to his mouth and still giggling weakly, "you know who this girl is, Harry? She's Loony... Loony Lovegood...ha ha ha..."

"We've got to get out of here." Harry stated firmly, "Alex, can you still carry Ginny?" The blond nodded. Of course he could, she'd tried to help him and all she got in return was a sprained ankle. He wasn't going to just leave her behind.

"I can walk!" protested the redhead.

"No, you can't." Alex said.

"Just put me down-"

"And have you break your ankle? I don't think so." Ginny rolled her eyes but didn't argue further. Harry slung Ron's arm over his shoulders and they looked for the way out. The twelve doors were back, so they had a one-in-twelve chance of getting it right.

"_There they are!_" shrieked Bellatrix upon seeing them. One of the doors had barged open and Death Eaters came flooding through.

"_Stupefy!_" Luna covered their backs as they ran through one of the doors, just trying to get to safety. She sealed the door with _Colloportus_ before they got the chance to look around.

"It doesn't matter!" said a man's voice. "There are other ways in — WE'VE GOT THEM, THEY'RE HERE!" Sure enough, upon glancing around, there were doors on all sides of the strange room. There was little time to seal the doors, Alex would have to do something to give them more. As Harry, Luna, and Neville raced to seal the doors, Alex unleashed his Obscurus, telling it to hold the doors closed until they were sealed. It had to split into pieces to cover all the doors, weakening, but it was all they could do to make sure that the Death Eaters couldn't enter. Sometimes there were slams, as if someone tried to batter down the door, but none came in. Once all the doors were sealed, the Obscurus returned and it was all Alex could do not to collapse.

"You okay?" Ginny quietly asked, in awe of seeing his Obscurus so close.

"Never had to do that before." He set her down before landing on his bottom, rubbing his aching head. The others joined them as the Death Eaters continued to try and make their way in.

"That...that was fun!" Ron giggled.

"We _really_ need to get you cured." Harry murmured, then spoke up, "Is everyone alright?"

"Hermione's still out, Ginny has a sprained ankle, Ron may be drunk, and Neville looks worse for wear, especially with his broken nose." Luna summed up, "But I think we're just fine."

"Could you do dat again?" Neville asked Alex, who shook his head and quickly regretted it with a hiss.

"Only if my life was in danger. Controlling the Obscurus so much has given me a _pounding_ headache."

"Wish we had some Wideye Potion to wake Hermione." said Luna as she checked over the other teen.

"How long could we hole up in here?" asked Harry.

"Don't know." Ginny shook her head, a hand on Alex's shoulder to comfort him, "Dad says the doors are enchanted to take explosions, just in case something goes awry, but he didn't say if they could take it for a long time." They all jumped when one of the doors gave a loud _BANG_.

"Apparently not for long." Alex muttered as one of the doors shook but held steady, if barely. The gang got closer together, nervous as the doors were blasted again.

"There must be another way out." Harry said, looking around, "If they surround us again, we might not be able to fight our way out."

"Yeah, with a witch out cold, your best friend drunk, your girlfriend with a broken ankle, and my Obscurus giving me such a damning headache." Alex quipped, sarcastic, "We can get out here just fine with three wand-wielders." Harry gave him a glare, as if to say, 'She's not my girlfriend.'

"We're doomed." groaned Neville.

"But if we open only one door, then they can only come in one at a time." Luna reasoned.

"But if we don't take them all out, then we'll be surrounded." Harry growled to himself, "We're trapped until someone comes to save us." They all jumped at the next _BANG_.

"We have to do something!" Ginny exclaimed. Alex opened his eyes and lowered his hands.

"There might be a way." He turned to Harry, "Unlock some of the doors and I'll block them. If we can get out through one while the Death Eaters think the others are unlocked, then they may not notice us leaving."

"Are you up to it, though?"

"Not at all, but if we wait here much longer, we won't be surviving." Alex staggered to his feet, "Grab each other and run."

"But what about-?" Ginny began.

"I'll be fine." Alex gave a tight smile, "I'm Lucius Malfoy's son. If he still cares about me, he'll make sure nothing happens. And if not, my Obscurus can always get me out of here. Now GO!" With a shout, Alex unleashed the Obscurus, sending it to block some of the doors. As much as they didn't like the plan, Harry, Nevillie, and Luna unlocked some of the doors. The Death Eaters sounded surprised and tried to open some of the unlocked doors, trying to get in. Alex gave them some leverage to allow them to think they could get in while the gang fled through one of the doors not being used by the Death Eaters. He only retracted the Obscurus when they were safely through, getting surrounded by the enemy in the process. He fell to his knees, weak from the overuse and didn't care about what they would do to him, as long as Harry and the others were safe. They were some of his only friends, there was no way he was allowing them to be hurt.

"Oh, here's one of the blondies!" Bellatrix cackled, "But where did itty bitty Potter go?" One of the Death Eaters pulled him to his feet by his hair and he cried out. Bellatrix tilted her head, observing him, and then Lucius stepped in.

"Enough! All of you, split up! Potter left him behind as a distraction!" he ordered. Several of the Death Eaters apparated away in black smoke, "Goyle, keep a good grip on him." Lucius wasn't looking directly at Alex, as if he was afraid to look his son in the eye, "He's a tricky one." Goyle gave a grunting laugh.

"Can't be too tricky. Doesn't even have a wand!"

"Malfoy!" called one of the other Death Eaters, Jugson, "We've got 'em!"

_No…_ Alex stared, even as he was taken by Goyle to another room, following Lucius. He glanced at his father, the man's head held high with a smirk on his lips. Inside the next room were everyone else with a large archway in the middle. It seemed to quietly whisper and gave Alex the chills.

"I'm glad you're finally seeing sense, Potter." Lucius held out his hand as he approached, "Give me the prophecy, please." Around them the Death Eaters were holding the other teens hostage and Alex closed his eyes, knowing there was no way out of this, not at the moment.

"Let — let the others go, and I'll give it to you!" said Harry desperately. A few of the Death Eaters laughed.

"You are not in a position to bargain, Potter," said Lucius Malfoy, his pale face flushed with pleasure, "You see, there are ten of us and only one of you...or hasn't Dumbledore ever taught you how to count?" Alex watched as Harry glanced around, not just at the Death Eaters but the state his friends were in as well. He could see the change in Harry's eyes as he realized that there was nothing he could do, and so he held out the prophecy. Lucius reached out for it, hand shaking a little at how it was almost in his grasp, then two doors above them banged open. From them came streaks of light, Aurors to their rescue. Alex ducked out of Goyle's grip as spells flew left and right, chaos immediate. His eyes searched for the others, trying to spot the others and make sure they were okay. He may have been too weak to defend anyone except himself, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try. They were almost free, just a little longer. He saw his father duel with Sirius and Harry with the prophecy nowhere to be seen, then Lucius was disarmed and at the mercy of the duo. Alex began rubbing forward, to protect his father in case something happened, but quickly changed his plans when he saw a flash of green light out of the corner of his eye. He didn't know what the spell was, only that it was dangerous, and it seemed to be heading straight for Sirius. There was no time to think, he allowed his Obscurus to take over, consuming his body before it put itself in between Sirius and the spell. The Obscurus probably thought Alex was a madman for doing this, so why was it doing it too? Then the spell struck.

Alex may have said that an Obscurus was impervious to spells, and this was no exception, but never before had a spell _hurt_ so much. The Obscurus died away as suddenly as it had appeared, Alex being blasted back by the force of it and nearly through the veil. He could barely move from the pain, the Obscurus screeching in his mind to _never_ do that again and he didn't blame it. His ears were ringing and his eyes screwed shut from the pain, but then someone was lifting him, his upper half, trying to speak to him, and so he opened them. Alex had never seen such a terrified look on Lucius' face before. His father was speaking to him, trying to say something, but all Alex could hear was the ringing in his ears. He felt so weak. A small nap couldn't hurt, right..?

* * *

"ALEX!" If he had his wand Lucius would've killed Bellatrix then and there. As it was, he was unable to check on his son with Sirius holding him at wandpoint, and then Harry was running off, after the retreating Bellatrix.

"Harry!" Sirius cried, but he couldn't go after his godson, not with what had just happened. When Harry was out of sight, the two stared at each other, panting, Lucius glancing down at his son every-so-often. Alex's Obscurus was powerful, but only Harry had ever survived the Killing Curse before. It wasn't likely he was still alive, but Lucius couldn't help but feel the need to check. And if he wasn't… It would be all his fault that his son was dead.

"Black," Lucius began, face worn and worried, "I promise you that I will fight no longer or make an attempt to escape if you will allow me to see my son. _Please_." Sirius didn't drop his wand for a few seconds, but once it was down, Lucius scrambled to see his son.

"Alex! Alex, please wake up." He checked for a pulse, relieved to find it, and then Alex opened his eyes. There was such pain in them that it made the man want to cry, but he held himself back, "You're going to be okay now, Alex. Nothing will hurt you anymore." Even as Alex's eyes slid closed, Lucius couldn't help but feel relieved that his son wasn't dead, at least not yet.

"He's your son?" The man glanced up, having nearly forgotten about Sirius.

"Yes, he is." Lucius continued to prop Alex in his arms, not wanting to leave the darker blond boy for anything.

"He saved my life. Why?"

"He always had this sense of goodness in him." Lucius said, "He saved you because it was the right thing to do."

"Then how is he not dead? His Obscurus?"

"I would believe so." Lucius met the other man's eyes, "How do you know that?"

"After what happened with the Dementors, as you well know, he met me. Fred and George told us the secret." Sirius turned his attention to Alex, "It's a wonder how he's still alive, even with his Obscurus."

"At least he is." They didn't speak anymore, not until the rest of the Ministry began to arrive and Lucius knew that he would have to be separated from his son. He spoke to Sirius, "Promise me that you will make sure he gets better, Black, that nothing happens to him until this is all over."

"No need to ask." Sirius picked Alex up in his arms as Aurors converged on Lucius, using spells to make sure he wouldn't be able to get away. It was also that moment that Alex began to wake up, the ringing and pain gone from his body. He groggily shook his head, trying to get to his sense again, then his eyes landed on his father.

Was that...a feeling of shame in his father's eyes? Being ashamed of being arrested in front of one of his sons? Why should he feel such an emotion? Alex was sure Lucius had been at lower points than this, but as he considered it, a thought came to him to explain why Lucius may have felt ashamed. Did he still feel enough about his sons to feel ashamed about being evil in front of them, being accused of it? Alex stared as his father was led away, then closed his eyes.

Even if that was the reason Lucius was ashamed, it made no difference now. Alex had always known his father was a bad person, especially being associated with Lord Voldemort, and seeing that with his own eyes changed nothing. That didn't get rid of the aching feeling in his chest, however.

* * *

With Dumbledore now reinstated at Hogwarts, things felt better, despite the threat of Voldemort hanging over their heads. Anyone could sense that, especially Alex. it had been a surprise to them all when he'd asked to go back to Hogwarts with Harry's group, not relenting at first until he explained why.

"I need to talk to Draco, tell him what's going on. I want… I want to say goodbye." Alex understood that after this, now that Voldemort was truly back, he wouldn't be able to stay at the Burrow. It was safe enough for everyone else, but not for him, not anymore. He'd have to move off for safety, probably to Grimmauld Place, but for now, until the year ended he'd be at the Burrow. He might as well give Draco his last goodbye, he didn't see himself meeting his brother again until Voldemort was gone and who knew when that would be? And what if Draco was dead after it? He had to do it now, while he still could, and so he was allowed to go to Hogwarts with the rest of the teens.

After getting bandaged a little by Madam Pomfrey with the rest, he headed down to the Slytherin Common Room ASAP. He didn't have a lot of time to give his goodbyes and he had to make every second count. He reached the wall but, without a password, there was no way in. That didn't stop him, however, as he allowed the Obscurus to consume him before slipping through the cracks in the wall. He reformed inside the Common Room, glad it was empty for the moment and made his way to Draco's dorm. His hand rested in space, just before knocking on the door as he hesitated, then he shook himself and knocked. _No time to waste._ There was some grumbling on the other side before it was opened by Draco and the second they saw each other, the platinum blond froze.

"Who's at the door, Draco?" called one of his dormmates.

"N-no one!" Draco pushed Alex forward as he closed the door behind him, then dragged his brother to sit on one of the couches with him.

"What are you doing here?!" he hissed in his pajamas, "It's not safe."

"Umbridge isn't here anymore, remember?" Alex murmured, "And take a look at me. I know it's not safe anywhere anymore." For a moment Draco paused and his eyes widened as he took in the bandages on Alex's face.

"What happened?"

"A certain ex-house elf of ours happened." Alex then began to explain how Dobby had sent him to help Harry, how they had fought and survived the Death Eaters, and saving Sirius. After telling him about saving the man, Draco slapped him. The sound echoed in the Common Room and Alex stared at his brother in shock. Ever before had Draco taken a hand against him, certainly afraid of what the Obscurus could do and just trying to protect his brother. But now the elder looked furious.

"You could have been _killed_." he bit out, every word slow to emphasize his point, "I know Father knew what he was getting himself into, but you? You knew better than to get involved! Why didn't you let him die?!"

"He was Harry's godfather, the only family the guy had left! And I didn't make the decision consciously! One second I was going to protect Dad, the next I was in Obscurus form, protecting Sirius! And if I _had_ died, I would have been sad, but at least I would've saved someone!"

"What if had been Father, then? What if, because of your actions, he had died instead?" They stared at each other in silence, Draco growing a little nervous as he got no answer from Alex, until the other finally answered.

"...You said it yourself, he knew what he was getting into. But if he had died, then I don't know what I would've done. Probably gone after whoever killed him, even myself." Draco was silent, then Alex was enveloped in a hug, leaving the younger brother shocked.

"_Never_ do that again." Draco whispered, "I promised to protect you and I don't know what I'd do if you died, so don't, got it?"

"Got it." Alex whispered back. They broke the hug and the younger boy went on, "I didn't come for just that, though. I came to say goodbye because, after this, I'll probably never see you again."

"Yeah, I know." Silence once again dominated their time for a while. Around them they could hear other Slytherins getting up for the day, getting ready for their classes or whatever they were about to do. Draco was the first to break the silence, "As soon as he's gone, I'll come looking for you. We'll be a family again."

"I hope so." Alex stood from the couch, "Tell Mum I love her, please." And with that, he left the Common Room. Draco stared after him, saddened about what life would be like after this but hoping for the best.


	5. Runaway (Year 6)

**1996:**

"Welcome to Grimmauld Place!" Sirius announced as they entered the tiny building. Alex looked around as his hands were weighed down by his bags. He would have to get used to the view, with it now being his home. There was a small _pop_ and a house elf appeared before them.

"Master Sirius." it greeted, giving both of them the stink eye.

"Hello, Kreacher. This is Alex, who'll be staying with us for an undetermined amount of time." Sirius gave the house elf a glare, "I want you to treat him as if he's part of the family until he leaves for good, do you understand?"

"Yes, Master Sirius." There was a smirk on the house elf's face, however, as if he'd found a loophole of some sort. Then he disappeared before Alex's eyes, along with their things, leaving the teen alone with Sirius.

"Don't mind him." said the man, walking past Alex and into the rest of the house, "He's the house elf for my family but doesn't particularly like anyone who's not a pureblood, especially if they're a 'blood traitor,' like myself."

"Why don't you just give him some clothing and let him be on his way, then?" Alex asked. He had been depressed after Dobby had left the Malfoys, thanks to Harry, but he harbored no grudge, knowing it was better for the elf in every way.

"Considered it a few times, but he's really devoted to my mother's portrait up there." Sirius pointed up the stairs, "He's also been really useful, so I don't know if I should let him go just yet. He's also overheard sensitive Order information, so I can't just let him go."

"What happens to him if you die?"

"He goes under the ownership of any surviving Black, including Bellatrix." Alex frowned.

"That would probably be the end of us all if that happened, huh?"

"Definitely, which is why I can't let him leave but I also can't free him." Alex gave a slow nod.

"So, where's my room?"

"Upstairs, first door on the left." Sirius headed into the kitchen, "Want anything to eat?"

"Not now, thanks." Alex made his way up the stairs and Sirius watched him leave, but not for long.

"Wait!"

"Yeah?" Alex glanced down at him.

"Just make sure you don't go into my mother's bedroom, okay?"

"Why?"

"You know Buckbeak?" Alex frowned.

"The hippogriff that Hagrid used to train?"

"That's right." Sirius nodded, "He didn't die and now lives with me. He lives in my mother's bedroom now, so be careful not to go in there."

"I'll make sure I won't." He continued going up the stairs. Alex skirted around the covered portrait, a little jumpy at its muttering and sudden shrieks, and then he was on the second floor. Opening a door, he found all his stuff in the room, taken there by Kreacher. There was no one around and he went in and began unpacking. He was a little nervous, having to spend the rest of the Wizarding War in the untraceable place, but if something happened to him, his icon was still in the Weasley's clock, so they'd know and be able to do something.

"Looks like I'll have plenty of time to catch up on my reading..." he mused to himself. Once everything was put away he left the room, heading downstairs. He peeked into the kitchen, finding that Sirius was still there, and so backed out, wanting to explore the place. He had only been there a few days the last time he was there, so he hadn't gotten to explore much. As it was, he took the opportunity to explore the ground floor. There wasn't much to see until he entered the drawing room of the first floor, which was covered head-to-toe in a peculiar wallpaper he'd never seen before. It looked like a tree and on the branches were members of the House of Black, it seemed, including his older brother, Draco. Several images were burned off, however, including Sirius himself. Alex observed it in awe, touching it lightly to find that it was made of fabric, not actually a wallpaper at all. He jumped away when there was a small _thump_ and looked behind him. He grew nervous upon seeing nothing except the furniture of the room and clenched his fists. There were certain tics he'd developed to help bring up the Obscurus and this was one of them. It bubbled up under his skin, silently hissing at the tension. Slowly, Alex walked around the room, observing the furniture, looking for the source of the sound. He jumped a little when one of the tables shook a little, making the same thump again. He watched it shake a little before it settled down again and considered calling for Sirius, but his curiosity was overriding his caution again. As the Obscurus growled at him not to do this, he ventured closer, slowly and cautiously. He jumped back when something leapt out of the drawers, churning in front of him like his own Obscurus. When it finally settled down into a recognizable form, his breath hitched, eyes widening in horror.

"Si...Si..." He gulped in air, trying to say something but barely anything came out. He scrambled back and landed on his bottom, fear still clutching his heart. Finally, managing to shut his eyes, he called out, "SIRIUS!" The man came running immediately and threw open the door.

"Al-?" He cut himself off, but then there was the slight whistle as a wand carved through the air, "_Riddikulus!_" There was a flash of yellow light behind his eyes and when Alex opened them again, the table was shaking.

"Are you alright?" Sirius helped him to his feet.

"What..." he squeaked, then steadied his voice, "What was that?"

"A boggart. Not really dangerous, but they get around by showing you your worst fear." Sirius helped him move out of the room, "Was that your worst fear?"

"I- I guess." They moved into the kitchen, both of them sitting at the kitchen table after Sirius has grabbed him some chocolate. All was quiet as Alex nibbled on it, only feeling slightly better.

"Are you not sure it was your worst fear?" Sirius asked slowly.

"Not really, no. At least, I don't think so. If I had to say what my biggest fear would be, the first thing that would pop up is losing Draco. But I don't wanna lose Fred, George, not even Mum or Dad."

"Well, you don't have to worry about seeing another boggart around here. I'll get rid of it."

"Wait." Alex's hand shot out to grip Sirius' preventing him from getting up, "How… how would I get rid of one if I faced it again?"

"The trick would be to use _Riddikulus_ to turn the boggart into something funny and laugh at it. Since you don't have a wand, I don't know how you could do that, unless you learned to laugh at your fear. That'd confuse the boggart to no end. Like, 'I'm your worst fear and you're laughing at me, how is that possible?'" Alex chuckled a little as Sirius changed his voice as if to voice the boggart. Sirius smiled at the small bit of laughter, glad to have made Alex happy, if only for a short while.

"If I can control my Obscurus, maybe I can do that." His face dropped, "It'd be hard, but I'd get used to it."

"Don't do it unless you have to." Sirius warned, then stood up, "Stay here and eat your chocolate, I'll go deal with it." Sirius then left Alex alone. Alex watched him leave, then began humming to himself, trying to relax. It was something he only did when he was truly alone and he knew it and it helped a whole lot.

"_Do you have the time,_" he hummed quietly, "_to listen to me whine? About nothing and everything all at once?_"

* * *

Near the end of July, Sirius brought Alex to the Burrow to visit the gang before they had to leave for Hogwarts. It was only for a short time, a few days at the most, but it was still a good time for Alex. It was also there, as he helped Harry celebrate his birthday, that he also learned of what was going on in the world now that there was an all-out war. Ollivander and Fortescue were missing, Dementors had been attacking, and a man named Karkaroff was dead. It was quickly explained to him that Karkaroff had once been the Headmaster of another wizarding school, Durmstrang, which Alex realized was faintly familiar before remembering that his father had once talked about sending Draco there instead of Hogwarts.

"He used to be a Death Eater, apparently." said Ron, "And you're sure your Dad thought about sending Draco there?"

"Positive. Good thing he didn't, huh?" Alex mused. Ron made an uncertain noise, "Hey, if it wasn't for Draco, you guys wouldn't know about me and where would we be then?"

"He's got a point." Harry added. It was then that Alex noticed Hermione's black eye.

"Got into a fight?" he asked. She touched her eye with a frown.

"One of Fred and George's pranks. A punching telescope, apparently." Alex winced.

"Yeah, I know how that feels. You won't be getting the bruising off until you get some of their special paste."

"We realized that a while back, thank you." Hermione said sarcastically. Alex rolled his eyes.

"Hey, at least you didn't do anything bad after it happened." Her eyes widened in realization and gave a nod. Alex assured that Fred and George may have had some extra paste in their room but no one wanted to go up and look, afraid to trigger another experiment or two, so Hermione would have to live with the black eye until they headed to the twins' shop later that week. Much of the rest of the visit went normally until the trio decided to invite Alex to come with them to Diagon Alley to see Fred and George. The blond was not as sure.

"You sure that's a good idea?" Alex questioned, "We could run into Death Eaters, if they've taken Ollivander from there."

"They know us, but they don't know you." Hermione reasoned, "They didn't know you last year unless it's been passed around. I think you'll be safe." Alex was still unsure and glanced at Sirius.

"Go ahead." said the man, "The war hasn't ramped up yet, you still have time to go around and do things."

"Okay." And so Alex went with them. Secretly he hoped to get a glimpse of his brother, hoping to find out if Draco and his family were okay. He may have said his goodbyes but that didn't mean he wasn't worried. With how his father was a Death Eater and close to Voldemort, Alex had little doubt that the Dark Lord would try to recruit Draco. It made him anxious beyond belief. He'd never be able to fight Draco if he had to, he cared too much, but if he could do something, just to prevent it, he'd do it. Sure, his brother was a bully, but he wasn't cruel, that much was true. He was taken out of these thoughts as the four plus Arthur, Ginny, Hagrid, and Molly entered Diagon Alley. Though he knew Fortescue was missing, that didn't mean he didn't feel bad when he saw the boarded up front of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor.

"I remember one time, Draco smuggled me some ice cream from here when we were little." Alex mused, "Never been inside but I loved the ice cream."

"How have you never been inside?" Ginny questioned. There was a small pause.

"It's a long story." He couldn't really tell them within earshot of Molly and Arthur, as it related to his secret and the Fidelius Charm was still in effect. Ginny nodded, seeming to understand.

"If it ever opens again, dear, I'll make sure to take you inside." Molly vowed.

"I'd love that, thank you." He gave her a smile, true in how he felt that she'd offer him that chance. They kept on walking, ignoring the stalls and hawkers trying to sell their wares, deliberating on where to go. They split evenly into two groups, Alex joining Molly, Arthur, and Ginny as they went into Flourish and Blotts while Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Hargird went off to Madam Malkin's. The shop had certainly seen better days and, just like the street outside, no one was really stopping to talk, only to buy and get on their way. Alex knew that things had been getting more and more dangerous, but it wasn't until now how much it was affecting the Wizarding World.

"I don't like this." Alex rolled his shoulders back, anxious from the tension as he whispered to Ginny.

"Don't worry, it shouldn't take long." Ginny gave him a nod, "And after this we can go see Fred and George. How does that sound?"

"I'd love that. I bet they're the only fun thing that's left in the world anymore."

"Maybe." Alex and Ginny helped carry the books after they were bought and quickly raced out of the shop, heading to Madam Malkin's to meet up with the rest of the group. When they arrived, Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't seem to be in good spirits. The teens didn't lag behind the adults too much but did slow a little to whisper one another, hoping to learn what had happened at the robe shop.

"Your brother and mother were there." Hermione confessed to Alex.

"If anything, they were worse than before!" Ron exclaimed. Hermione shushed him.

"I know saying sorry for them won't mean anything, but I tried." Alex sighed, "How were they, though? Were they okay?"

"They were just fine." Harry said, "I think Draco tried to call Hermione a mudblood again but held his tongue. Looks like you've been a good influence on him after all."

"At least they're okay."

"Actually..." Hermione murmured, "Narcissa pulled me over for a moment to ask about you, if you were okay. I couldn't tell her where you were, but I told her you were fine."

"Thanks. That's all I could ask for." They all fell silent again as they went on to buy other things for the school year before coming across Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. It was at the end of Diagon Alley and was a brightly-colored splash of happiness in the glum street. Just the sight of it cheered Alex up. He heard a small gasp from Molly, glancing over to see her staring incredulously at a poster. He couldn't help but try to stifle a laugh at what he read.

**WHY ARE YOU WORRYING ABOUT YOU-KNOW-WHO?**

**YOU SHOULD BE WORRYING ABOUT U-NO-POO — THE CONSTIPATION SENSATION THAT'S GRIPPING THE NATION!**

"Oh Merlin..." Alex chuckled as Harry and Ron started to laugh as well.

"They'll be murmured in their beds!" said Molly.

"No they won't!" protested Ron, "This is brilliant!" They then entered the store. It was packed to the brim with customers and it was hard to stay together in such a crowd. Eventually they found Fred and George, who must have been savvy with their business if it was thriving so well.

"Alex!" They gave him hugs upon seeing him.

"How have you been?" asked Fred.

"Sirius isn't giving you any trouble, is he?" wondered George. Alex rolled his eyes.

"I'm just fine, thanks." He patted his pocket, "I also wanted to try my pass out today, see if I could find anything I wanted to buy."

"Pass? What pass?" asked Ron.

"Oh, nothing." Alex said.

"Here, we can take you around for a tour." said George.

"And here's some paste to get that bruise off your eye." Fred handed some to Hermione.

"Are you sure it's safe?"

"Hey, we tried most of this on ourselves!" protested Fred, "We came out fine!"

"Alex can vouch for the paste, too." George said.

"That I can." Alex affirmed. Hermione sighed before using the paste on her eye before the twins led Harry and Alex away for a tour.

"So, you got our letter?" Fred asked. Alex nodded.

"Never thought I'd be able to stop by until the war was over, but I'm here now." Alex shrugged, "It's a great place, though. Everyone needs a little light in the darkness."

"You read our minds." George said, "But could you guys keep a secret?" Alex and Harry shared a glance.

"Sure, but why?" Harry asked.

"This way, we'll show you." They led the two to a backroom, the twins glaring at anyone who tried to pickpocket their wares without paying, and showed the brothers a line of clothes or various kinds.

"Are you into clothing now?" Alex picked up a hat, raising an eyebrow.

"That's a Shield Hat, actually." Fred said, "You wouldn't believe how many people don't know how to do a good Shield Charm, even in the Ministry-"

"Unless Harry's teaching 'em-"

"-and so we decided to capitalize on that a bit." Fred continued.

"We made Shield Hats to keep jinxes off you, like, say you trying to get your friend to jinx you and you watch the look on their face when it backfires." said George.

"Supposed to be a joke item, but then we suddenly got orders from the Ministry and expanded our wares."

"We've now got Shield Cloaks, Shield Gloves, etc."

"Wouldn't do too well against more powerful spells like the Unforgivable Curses, but with lesser and moderate ones, they work just fine."

"And then we decided to go into a while line of stuff for Defense Against the Dark Arts!" said George, "Instant Darkness Powder, Decoy Detonators-"

"Mr. Weasley and Mr. Weasley?" A girl poked her head into the room, wearing the same uniform as the twins, "There's a customer looking for a joke cauldron."

"Thanks, Verity, I'll get right on it." George said, "And Harry, anything you want is free of charge."

"What?!" exclaimed the darker-haired boy, having already pulled out his pouch to buy some of the DADA things, "You can't!"

"Of course we can!" George said sternly, "You gave us our start-up loan, so you can get anything in the store for free." He gave a wink, "If someone asks, tell 'em where it came from." And with that, he went back out into the rest of the store.

"And because of the Malfoy fortune I get a discount because of my pass?" Alex quipped. Fred nodded.

"That's right. You're the only one who gets it, though. We're not even giving Ron a discount, even though he's family." Fred led them out of the room, "Any other questions?" The boys shook their heads though Alex and Harry did get a small supply of the Darkness Powders and Decoy Detonators. Alex still had a small pouch of money from his parents as emergency money and used it to buy the supplies, knowing he'd likely not use it for much else. And if he needed them, he now had another way to defend himself besides his Obscurus. It made him feel good for the first time since moving to Grimmauld Place.

* * *

It was the middle of October when Alex was told the news of what Harry suspected. It was not a big issue, as Alex himself suspected that Draco would become a Death Eater, but it didn't make him feel any better. And with how Harry observed Draco being more out of sight and mad than usual, Alex knew that his brother was under pressure to do _something_, but what was Voldemort's task? He didn't know for sure that it was Voldemort but he felt certain. As it was, he left his room and headed up to the third floor to see Buckbeak, holding Jack in his arms.

Ever since he'd learned that Sirius was caring for Buckbeak, he'd helped the man do it. He'd always loved hippogriffs, ever since he'd gotten Jack and this was no different. He fed Buckbeak, took care of him, even helped him get some exercise if needed. It was only after a few weeks of doing it that he noticed Sirius helping him less and less, only watching and making sure nothing went wrong. When asked, Sirius only said, "You and him, I can see the special connection." Alex hadn't seen any kind of connection between himself and Buckbeak but continued to help care for the hippogriff and, in times like now, go to see him just for emotional support. Opening the door, Alex found Buckbeak laying down, trying to rest. He raised his head up to look at the boy upon the opening of the door and gave a curious caw. Alex bowed before going any further, asking for permission to come closer. Buckbeak bowed back and Alex came in, closing the door behind him. He stroked Buckbeak's feathers.

"Hey, Beaks." It was Alex's nickname for the hippogriff, something that had just come up and when Buckbeak didn't mind it, Alex continued to use it. He showed Buckbeak his toy, "This is Jack." Buckbeak sniffed the toy before laying his head down again. Alex leaned against his side and kept Jack close before he began to speak, "Draco's a Death Eater now. I knew it was gonna happen, but that doesn't make it any better. I wish there was something I could do, but I have to stay here and out of sight with you. Do you think he'll be okay?" Buckbeak gave a small groan and shifted a little, "You don't want me talking when you're trying to get to sleep, right? I'll shut up, then." Alex went quiet and just spent time with Buckbeak, laying against the animal's side as he thought about everything that was going down in the world right now, if there was anything he could do to make things better, if just in a small way. Unfortunately, however, he was coming up with nothing and was depressed by this.

_What can I do to help if there's nothing I can do?_ He thought sadly. He glanced down at Jack, _I'm a beast, uncontrollable and untamable. I'm not good at anything except death and destruction._ He got up and left the room, going downstairs. He went to the ground floor after putting Jack in his room, trying to walk off his thoughts, then heard something from the dining room. He peeked in, keeping himself to the shadows as he saw Sirius reading a letter. He was quiet, watching Sirius read and mutter to himself. He hid in a nearby closet when Sirius got up and left the room, and when he looked back in, he found the letter left behind. Making sure the man wasn't coming back, he went in and read the letter himself.

_'Padfoot,_

_'Glasses has given a third prophecy and we believe it may have something to do with Xander. Listed below is the prophecy, word-for-word. I am only giving you this in the greatest confidence that you won't share this with anyone else, certainly not the Faiths. I fear for Xander's life and only hope it doesn't come to pass too soon._

_' - Brian'_

Like the letters from Harry and Hermione, it was encrypted and it didn't take long for Alex to decrypt it. He murmured it under his breath to make sure he understood it right, not quite believing what he was reading.

_'The beast will overcome those that swear to tame it, only to fall when he who knows little love learns to love again. Before it ends, sense of self will die and brotherhood knows no more. Born just before the day of Love, the beast switches hands again and again and again and Death will follow until the end of its days. Death and Beast are intertwined and will never separate, even at the efforts of brotherhood. Death will come for the beast many times but it will only go when it decides to be tamed. Brotherhood will be nevermore, nevermore, NEVERMORE!'_

Alex's head shot up when he heard footsteps before diving under the table. He held his breath as Sirius came back in and grabbed the letter before leaving again. As Alex got out from under the table, he came face-to-face with Kreacher.

"Naughty boy." he drawled. Alex frowned.

"Don't say a word of this to anyone or do anything that would make them suspicious." he ordered, "After all, Sirius said you have to treat me like I'm a master as well, right?" Kreacher frowned.

"Of course." He then disappeared. Alex didn't trust the house elf for a minute as he snuck back to his room, hoping that Sirius wouldn't grow suspicious. He didn't quite understand the letter or the prophecy, but if it had something to do with him, he knew that he was going to die. Even though it wasn't completely clear, he knew for certain that he was entwined with Death, that he was the 'Beast' mentioned in the prophecy. Everyone dies someday, but his seemed to be coming sooner than others'. He had to do something too make an impact so that he didn't die doing nothing.

_I have to leave._ he realized, _I don't know what I'll do, but I have to leave._ He went back to his room to begin planning what he would do, when to do it, and so on. It would take a while, but then he'd be out of everyone's hair. Whatever the 'brotherhood' was, he wasn't going to destroy it by staying.

* * *

It was almost December and he was almost out the door when he was caught by Sirius. He'd been trying to avoid the man while he was planning but still spent enough time to not seem suspicious but he was still caught regardless, his hand resting on the doorknob when Sirius appeared at the end of the hall.

"Alex?" Sirius blinked, taking note of the backpack on the teen's shoulders, "What are you doing?"

"Leaving."

"You can't leave, it's too dangerous!"

"I have to, so no one can trace this place because of me. Even if we're both covered by Fidelius Charms, they can always be broken."

"You're not going anywhere, Alex." Sirius had his wand out. Alex gave him a sad look.

"I'm sorry, Sirius." And with a single gesture, all the man could see was a black, mist-like thing heading at his face. His head smacked against the wall and he was out like a light. Alex observed as he crumpled to the ground, then used a finger to stroke the Obscurus. It purred under his touch.

"Thanks." Alex opened the door as he returned the parasite, "Now let's go." And with that, he left Grimmauld Place.

* * *

It was hours later that Sirius awoke to find Remus looking after him. They were in Sirius' old bedroom, Remus having put Sirius in bed to take care of him.

"Remus?" he groaned.

"Easy." The man forced Sirius to lay back down, making sure he couldn't get up, "You have a bad hit on the head. You're lucky you don't have a concussion!"

"Alex did this." he said. Remus frowned.

"I see." He checked his watch, "You've been out for several hours and because Alex didn't show any magical abilities, he was never put under the Trace. He could be anywhere by now."

"I can't believe he knocked me out!" Now that he was getting more and more awake, Sirius was becoming incensed, "Who does he think he is?!"

"I'm sure he has a reason." Remus said, "And calm down or you'll get a headache!" Sirius groaned again.

"If Fred and George don't kill me first, the Malfoys _will_."

"Give Alex some credit, though." Remus spoke, "Whatever made him leave, he was able to knock you out and disappear. I think he has enough sense to stay off Voldemort's radar and contact us when he needs to. I don't like this as much as you do but there's nothing we can do at the moment."

"Don't remind me." Sirius closed his eyes. He felt terrible that he'd allowed Alex to leave and bad that he wasn't able to keep a promise, even if it was to Lucius Malfoy. He could only hope that Alex would be okay, whatever he was doing now.


	6. Empirical Ends (Year 7)

**Dear Readers,**

**This is the final chapter of this giant prologue before we go into the actual story itself. It also has the last of the AU changes in it. In the next few chapters it'll be focused more on Alex's side of the x-over.**

* * *

**1997:**

Lucius kept tabs on the outside world, but even he was surprised when he was released from Azkaban. At first he thought it must've been a trick, then realized the only reason he was out now was because the Dark Lord was bringing the world to its knees. This revelation, along with his experiences in the prison, didn't make him feel any better. It was only when he returned to the Manor, to his son and wife, that he finally felt a sense of happiness for the first time in a year. He hugged them gratefully, happily, and almost sobbed at how happy he was to find them again.

"How have you both been?" he asked, "Have you been okay?"

"We've been fine, Lucius." Narcissa said, and yet there was a look in her eyes that didn't match her smile. Draco's face was more bare, sadder, and Lucius knew that his son was about to be the bearer of bad news.

"He knows Alex exists." Draco whispered and then there was a hand on his shoulder. Lucius had no need to turn around to discern who it was.

"Hello, Lucius." said Voldemort, "I'd like to confirm the rumors that you have another son besides young Draco. Is this true?" There was nothing Lucius could do to say otherwise, only the truth, and so he slowly nodded.

"Y-yes, my lord."

"Then where might he be now?"

"I do not know, my lord."

"I see." Voldemort let go, "Thank you for confirming it Lucius." And then he was gone. Lucius glanced back to make sure Voldemort wasn't around before lowering his voice.

"And the charm?"

"It's not been broken yet, but..." Draco glanced away, frightened.

"If he finds Alex, breaks the charm..." Narcissa looked as scared as her son. Lucius took them both into a hug.

"He's safe for now, I'm sure. There's nothing we can do without knowing where he is." He broke the hug, "I'm just glad that you're both alright."

"And we're happy to have you home." Narcissa's smile this time was genuine and Lucius smiled back. Even though Alex was missing, it was the best he could hope for.

* * *

After arriving at the Burrow, still somehow intact, Harry watched the sky for the others to arrive. It had been a hectic journey on the motorbike and still it scared him, how the Death Eaters knew he was being moved that night. His heart was also in despair at the death of Hedwig. Besides Hagrid, she'd been his first friend and it hurt, how much he missed her. As it was, they were lucky enough to crash at the Tonks' house momentarily before heading on to the Burrow. Sirius would be so mad at them for crashing the bike but could they have done otherwise? As it was, so far Remus, George, Fred, and Arthur had all arrived, as worse for wear as he had been, especially George, but at least they were safe for the time being. Harry was still scared for Ron, Hermione, and the others. He loved Hedwig, but if he had to lose his best human friends, he didn't know what he'd do. Suddenly he could see something coming down from the sky. He readied his wand, just in case, but there was no need. Tumbling down were Ron and Tonks, who barely managed their landing as it was. Harry raced over to help them up as Hermione and Kingsley came in on their Thestral and, after Hermione disembarked, Kingsley left, having to go guard the Minister of Magic. The only ones missing now were Bill, Fleur, Moody, and Mundungus.

"Do you think they're okay?" asked Ron as they got patched up.

"It'd be just our luck that they aren't." Harry mused.

"Don't say that!" Hermione protested. All of them looked up when a commotion started outside. Grabbing their wands, they ran out to see that Fleur and Bill had landed on the Thestral, but there was no sign of Moody or Mundungus.

"Are you both alright?" Molly asked, checking them over for injuries.

"A few injuries, but we are fine." said Fleur.

"So I guess Moody's on his way?" asked Ron. Bill suddenly looked very uncomfortable and a little confused.

"Yeah, but… I think Alex is with him."

"What?!" exclaimed Hermione, "But how? He went missing last Christmas!"

"My question is, how did he even know to be there?" Harry questioned, "It's like everyone knows what's going on now!"

"Easy, mate." Ron said, "I'm sure he might know why. I mean, if the Death Eaters knew too, maybe he could tell us how the secret got out."

"Or..."

"_Don't even think about it_." said Hermione, "Alex isn't a Death Eater. There's no way, not unless he got a major attitude adjustment." They all nodded, conceding her point. As they headed back inside the Burrow, Harry dropped his voice to whisper to his best friends.

"Keep an eye on him, though. Even if Alex isn't a Death Eater, that doesn't mean he isn't on their side." Ron and Hermione nodded. Just as they were about to go inside is when Moody finally came down to land. It was hard to tell, however, because of the swirling Obscurus that covered the broom and its passengers. It quickly disappeared as the two dismounted, Alex handling the broom, and the trio saw no reason to attack, for it truly did look like Alex. However, the adults were more cautious. Remus, Sirius, Molly, Arthur, and Tonks pushed the kids back into the house before attacking.

"_STUPEFY!_" Immediately the red spells were swallowed up by the Obscurus as it struck out to protect its host. Harry knew that not everyone in the Order had been told Alex's secret so many of them probably thought the teen was using some sort of spell like _Protego_ to defend himself. This had to stop before someone set off the blond. At least Moody seemed to have his head.

"STOP!" shouted Moody. Immediately all spells ended but wands weren't lowered. Alex relaxed a little, the Obscurus retracting to hover over his shoulders. Even though they couldn't hear anything, Alex had once explained to them that he could hear the Obscurus hiss and screech and Harry wondered if it was doing that now, writhing in the air because of the tension. But once he realized who he was seeing, Sirius lowered his wand.

"Alex?!" he exclaimed. This surprised most of them but Remus wouldn't let Alex get closer, questioning if it was really him. As he had done with Harry, Remus wanted Alex to answer a question only the blond would have shared with someone else. He called for Fred, understanding that the twins had a good connection with Alex and probably knew some certain things about the blond that no one else did. And when the redhead saw Alex, he didn't look happy. In fact, he seemed quite furious as he marched closer to Alex, wand at the ready. The teenager raised an eyebrow.

"Yes?" he asked, as if he wasn't in danger at all. He didn't even flinch when Fred rested his wand on Alex's neck, staring him in his glowing white eyes.

"What was the method you told me that you thought would help you control your secret?"

"Meditation from my martial arts training. You were really against it but I managed to convince you. It happened the morning after I got hit in the eye by one of your boxing telescopes." Alex didn't miss a beat. Fred slowly lowered his wand before enveloping Alex in a hug. Everyone relaxed, realizing it was safe, or at least safe from Alex. The blond, however, was not safe from their wrath, knowing this even as he returned his Obscurus.

"What the hell?" Fred hissed in his ear, "You leave without a word and had us worried sick, then you turn up outta nowhere and get involved in all this?"

"If you'll stop choking me, I'm sure I could answer your questions." Fred let go and grabbed his hand, dragging him inside. George managed to sit up when he saw Alex and glared in an angry but relieved way.

"If I wasn't injured right now I'd throttle you."

"Love you too." Alex quipped.

"How did you not get touched by our spells?" Remus demanded, "They disappeared before they ever hit you. How is that possible?"

"Well..." George began, where he and Fred revealed Alex's secret so that things could be understood better. Molly and Arthur, of course, were not happy that they hadn't been told this in the first place and were even unhappier when they learned that all of their children had known the secret and hadn't said a word.

"But how could we? We're still under a Fidelius Charm!" said Ginny.

"A very smart thing to do." Moody said, "And Alex? Thank you for helping out."

"No problem. The guy with you was a coward, though." Alex lowered his eyes, looking a little uncomfortable, "And I'm sorry."

"Sorry? About what?" asked Harry.

"About Hedwig. If I could have, I would've protected her as well. But flying in the air and controlling an Obscurus at the same time? I couldn't save her, and I'm sorry." Harry shook his head.

"There was nothing you could've done. At least you saved someone, though."

"I guess..." Alex didn't look so convinced and so they tried to distract him from this, starting with how he knew that they were moving that night. Alex snorted, "Really? Practically every Death Eater knew you were going tonight and I overheard them. After I left Grimmauld Place, I tried to lead a normal life but it didn't work, so I've been keeping an eye on the Death Eaters."

"Is there anything else?" asked Remus. Alex frowned.

"No, there isn't. And I know you're thinking, 'How can we trust you?' I understand that, but just because my family are Death Eaters doesn't mean I want to be one too. You've got a mole somewhere in the Order and it certainly isn't me!"

"Easy." Fred put a hand on Alex's shoulder to help calm him, "We should see if there's a place for you to stay." And so he led the blond upstairs, not wanting any more tension to be put on the teen. 'Walking powder keg' barely even began to describe Alex when he was in a bad mood.

* * *

Harry couldn't sleep. This wasn't anything new from the various nightmares and visions he'd had over the years, but this was one that had been haunting him since the end of the school year. It wasn't a vision or a nightmare, per say, but a memory. And a vicious one at that. He closed his eyes to try and remember all the details, knowing them as well as he knew the scar on his forehead…

_Harry was determined to find out what Draco was up to. He'd followed him into the boy's bathroom on the sixth floor, ready to talk (and probably get into a fight). But when he tried to talk to Draco, the blond wasn't having any of it. Draco had been the one to start the fight and Harry quickly realized why, taking in the other's haggard appearance and coming to the conclusion that Draco was under a lot of pressure and he'd possibly made things worse. There had to be a way out of this somehow._

_"Draco! Stop for a second!" he cried._

_"What the hell do you want, Potter?!" Draco's voice was shaking, wherever he was, "Aren't you glad I've been ignoring you this year?!"_

_"I just want to talk!" Harry ducked as Draco blasted one of the sinks beside him. His response was clear, he was in no mood to talk. Harry tried again, "Aren't you supposed to be good? Isn't that what Alex would want?" He was playing the brother card to get Draco to calm down. If anything, it seemed to infuriate the blond more._

_"Don't talk about my brother and don't you _dare _use him against me!" Draco's voice was breaking, "I had no choice in this! If I could, I wouldn't be doing anything except annoy you, but I can't!" There was a small pause, "And what do you mean, 'what Alex _would _want?' Did something happen to him?!"_

Crap. _thought Harry._

_"You promised to protect him, to keep him a secret! WHAT HAPPENED TO MY LITTLE BROTHER?!" Draco sounded more than outraged now, quite deliriously angry if Harry had to describe it._

_"He's-" Harry had no right to keep this from Draco, even if his enemy was usually a prick, "He's gone missing." Silence. Complete and utter silence. It scared Harry more than a yelling Draco ever would. It was broken when the stall right next to him exploded. Harry ducked, covering his head, and then heard Draco's voice._

_"Harry Potter, if you don't tell me where my brother is _right now_, Voldemort will be the _least _of your worries." It was said in such a dead tone, stone cold yet calm, and Harry knew that he'd pushed Draco over the edge. He had to get out of there and let the blond calm down or Draco would certainly kill him. He took his duties as a brother very seriously, apparently. Harry cried out as a toilet exploded and some of the porcelain dug into his flesh. If he didn't end this right now, he'd be dead. He had no choice. He raised his wand and pointed it at where he'd last heard Draco._

_"_SECTUMSEMPRA!"

Harry shivered as the rest of the memory played on, clear as day. He'd been horrified at the effects of the spell but quickly understood what it was made to do after he'd learned that Snape was the Half-Blood Prince. Snape had made the spell to defend himself against his bullies, mainly the Marauders, and it was clear the spell was meant for death. Harry didn't wish that on Draco, not one bit. They were lucky Snape arrived, just in time, and Harry had been given so many detentions they'd almost lasted to the end of school, but he was fine with that. After using that spell on Draco, he kinda deserved it. And if _Alex_ ever found out what Harry had done… The teen didn't even want to think about it. He just had to get to sleep somehow and hope Alex never found out. Getting one brother mad at you was bad enough, getting the other one mad (with magical-deflecting powers no less) was a guaranteed trip to St. Mungo's or worse.

Maybe his luck would keep him safe until such a time that it didn't piss Alex off to the point he'd rip Harry to shreds. Maybe. Harry didn't think that was likely but still hoped.

* * *

It was a few hours until the wedding but Alex was already sitting at one of the tables in the tent, wanting to be alone. He had been trying to avoid everyone and their questions and realized maybe coming to help hadn't been the best idea. But he'd had the chance to save someone, to make sure the Death Eaters didn't kill someone who didn't deserve it, and so he'd taken the chance. But now he was thinking otherwise. He looked up when he heard footsteps approaching and found George walking toward him. He glanced away guiltily and waited until the redhead sat at the table with him.

"How are you feeling?" asked George.

"Miserable."

"You're not the only one." George frowned, "Hey, look up at me, please." Alex did, then glanced away. George made a sound of unhappiness, "Why won't you look at me? It's my ear, isn't it?" He shook his head, "It's not your fault, Alex. An ear is an ear, it's not important."

"I let you get hurt, though."

"But you saved Moody. And we know that there's a mole in the Order."

"And any one of them could be the mole and now knows my secret." Alex snapped, "I'm not even supposed to exist. If anybody learns about me, they can use me against my family. They could even break the Fidelius Charm and turn me over to Voldemort as his new toy."

"Don't say that." George said, "This place has the best protection we can get for the wedding. No one's getting in here and no one will learn about you. Besides, few people know about the Fidelius Charm on you, so how would they know they have to break one?"

"My family?" Alex said, leaning on his crossed arms, "They might not be able to share the secret but if Voldemort asks enough questions he'll know there's a Fiidelius Charm going on. He could break it and then ask them all the questions he wants and he'll learn about me." Alex shifted in his seat, "Do you what one of my fears is? Being manipulated and used to cause destruction. I know that's all I am but I don't wanna do it if I don't have to."

"That's not all you are!" George protested, "You are _not_ just a being of destruction, Alex. You're a wonderful kid Fred and I are happy to call a brother!" Alex glanced up and held his gaze.

"Brother?" he asked slowly, "You guys… You really see me as your brother?"

"Of course we do." The redhead nodded, "You gave us a secret to keep and we feel responsible for you. If something happens to you, I don't know what Fred and I would do. We were worried sick as it was when you disappeared, if you got hurt or even killed under our watch..." He shook his head, "I don't even wanna _think _about it."

"...Thanks." Alex nodded, "Feels good to know I have someone else that cares about me."

"_Everyone_ here cares about you, we all care about each other."

"Tell that to the wolf man." George frowned.

"His name is Remus and you know that."

"He's been on my hide since I got here and _you _know that." Alex snarled, "I don't feel safe here, welcome, or anything like that. After the wedding is over I'm leaving again and no one's gonna stop me. _Not even you_." Alex stood and walked out of the tent. George watched him leave before sighing and shaking his head.

"Oh Alex..."

* * *

After the disaster that was crashing the wedding, Lucius wondered what the Dark Lord's next move would be. He'd certainly do everything in his power to track down Harry, but how far would he go to do it? The man glanced at his son. Voldemort had made Draco try to kill Dumbledore and it had taken its toll on the lad. He couldn't even begin to think of what Voldemort would make Alex do if he found out Lucius had another son, _especially_ a mudblood one. It almost made him shiver.

"Lucius?" He turned to look at his wife, who was giving him a worried look.

"Yes, honey?"

"Is something bothering you?"

"No dear, nothing's bothering me." That was a lie but she didn't call him out on it. Instead she nodded, but the worried look was still there. It wasn't directed at him and he had the feeling her worries had changed.

"Is something wrong, Narcissa?" Lucius lowered his voice and moved a hand to hold one of hers. Narcissa didn't move.

"Lucius… I think I saw Alex at the wedding." she whispered. The man tightened his grip slightly before relaxing. It was good to hear that their son was safe, after what Draco had told him of Alex going missing, but if the other Death Eaters had seen him, they might start making connections.

"As long as no one asks, things will be okay." he promised, "We kept him a secret, there shouldn't be a reason for them to ask."

"My Lord! My Lord!" Pettigrew came scurrying in, "I checked the guest list, one of the guests there was not on it!" Narcissa glared at Lucius. The man didn't even attempt to save his hide.

"If they find out it's Alex..." she threatened.

"I'll do my best to make sure they won't." Lucius promised, and he'd do it, too.

* * *

It was a week after the skirmish at the manor, after Draco returned to Hogwarts, that he felt something was off. Lucius was a man of pride and arrogance, but he trusted his instincts. At least, to a point. And right now, they were telling him that something very very terrible was about to befall his family. It was when Voldemort practically sauntered into the dining room that the feeling increased. Lucius swallowed.

"My Lord, what would you like us to do next?" he asked, trying to keep his voice from shaking.

"Nothing, Lucius." said the Dark Lord, Nagini curling around his feet after he'd sat at the table, wand in hand, "I believe I have a way to make the Wizarding World even more fearful than it already is."

"My Lord?" Many of the Death Eaters wondered what Voldemort could have up his sleeve. Lucius was feeling queasy and glanced over when Narcissa grabbed his arm. It seemed she felt them same way.

"Time and time again some of you have failed me in capturing Harry Potter, including over the past week." Several of them winced, bowing their heads in shame and hoping the Dark Lord wouldn't kill them, "That wouldn't have happened if you'd had an Obscurus to do your bidding." Lucius felt his heart almost stop as Narcissa gripped his arm tighter.

"M-my Lord?"

"Lucius, Narcissa, please understand that I don't blame you for trying to keep him a secret. But after I learned that I couldn't find more information on him, I got rid of the Fidelius Charm. Now he can help us." With a wave of his wand, Voldemort summoned a bubble-like orb from another room, holding none other than Alex. Lucius grit his teeth as Narcissa gasped, the Death Eaters around them murmuring to each other. Alex seemed to be unhurt for the most part and was kicking at the shield, trying to make his way out. He locked eyes with his parents and Lucius could see nothing but a frightened, angry, sad look of betrayal. Lucius so badly wanted to tell him that he hadn't been given away but there was nothing the man could do.

"My Lord," Narcissa spoke up, "are you certain it has to be him?" Lucius gave her a look, not wanting her to anger the Dark Lord or worse.

"Unless he angers me, no harm will come to your son." Voldemort said. That did little to reassure the Malfoys, "Now, Lucius, I'd like you to prove your worth to me."

"My Lord?"

"Use _Imperius_ on your son." Lucius' eyes widened. He couldn't do that! Yet, as he glanced at his son, he knew he had no choice. Either he would die, Alex would be hurt, or Alex would be controlled by someone else. Possibly all three. Voldemort raised his wand.

"If you won't do it, perhaps I should give you an incentive."

"My Lord-!"

"_Crucio_!" Alex screamed as the curse hit him through the bubble. The Malfoys hopped to their feet as Alex switched forms over and over, still screaming the whole time. Death Eaters moved away, frightened by the strange and dangerous creature. Voldemort asked, "Well, Lucius?"

"I will, just please-!" He could say no more. Voldemort waved his wand, stopping both _Crucio_ and the bubble surrounding Alex. The blond teen landed on the ground with a _thump_. He moaned for a moment, but tried to get to his feet as he summoned his Obscurus.

"_Imperius_!" The yellow mist wafted up Alex's nose just in time. The Obscurus stopped just centimeters from several Death Eaters, including the Malfoys themselves. It floated in the air, sluggish under the effects of the spell. As Alex was affected, it affected the parasite as well. Quite a few breathed sighs of relief as Voldemort nodded.

"Good. And if you can't keep him under control, I will give the job to someone else." Lucius nodded, his hand shaking. It was only pure luck his wand had worked at all, not being his own. After his had been cracked in the Battle of the Seven Potters, he'd had to borrow one. Even now it hurt to have his own son under his control but he'd shown enough caring. If he showed any more, it could be a sign to the Dark Lord that he wouldn't listen to orders. If that became the case, _all _the Malfoys could die. He had no choice.

_At least he's not in any pain._ Lucius thought, seeing the dreamy look on his son's face. Neither he nor Narcissa had ever seen this form of Alex before and he knew the Dark Lord would used this to his advantage somehow. It was a horrible thought but a likely one.

"And Lucius? Why don't you have him tear into a traitor or two sitting at this table?" All the Death Eaters stiffened, wondering who Voldemort would single out, "Such as Runcorn?"

_Gladly._ He sent the Obscurus after the man with just a few words. It helped keep his mind off what he was doing. Many stared in horror as the Obscurus suddenly came to life again and tore into Runcorn, the man screaming in terror and pain at the assault. It was over in seconds and the Obscurus clearly left its mark, slashes and gashes all over the body.

"Thank you, Lucius. Now, onto other business..." The Obscurus hovered over the table like a dark cloud, ready to attack once again. There were no offenses or sharp remarks for the rest of the meeting, no one wanting to be attacked. Lucius only wanted this to be over and done with ASAP so he wouldn't have to keep controlling his son. As if it would be that easy.

* * *

Lucius waited in the boathouse with his son. Voldemort knew that they might try to defend themselves and so sent the two ahead. Alex's Obscurus was an excellent spy and Lucius was to sabotage their efforts if possible. It had been months since he was first tasked in controlling Alex and it still hurt deep inside. If they could, Narcissa and Lucius would release him and talk to him while he was in a containment spell similar to the one the Dark Lord had used, but Alex wouldn't say anything, let alone look at them. It hurt that Alex wouldn't speak or even look at them. Hopefully he'd forgive them eventually.

"What do you see?" He'd asked this several times now, wanting to know where the Obscurus was. Alex smiled under the effects of _Imperius_.

"Great Hall." he said, "They're all panicking, heading to anywhere to deal with Voldemort. McGonagall, Flitwick, and the other teachers are making a shield over Hogwarts. It feels powerful."

"Understood." Since there was no way to communicate with the Dark Lord through the shield, Lucius had no idea why Voldemort would station them here. Shouldn't they be with the Dark Lord and let the Obscurus do the damage? Lucius shook his head, "Don't attack. The Dark Lord has given them an hour to give him Harry. If nothing is done in that hour, attack." Alex nodded.

"Okay, Dad." Lucius winced.

"Don't call me that." Alex frowned, a saddened look on his face.

"Yes sir." They sat in silence, Lucius on a chair and Alex crouched. The blond teen's glowing white eyes had been unnerving at first but Lucius had gotten used to it, understanding that it was a sign of Alex using his Obscurus. He had been both surprised and proud at how Alex had learned to control the parasite and had congratulated his son on it, but Alex hadn't acknowledged it, even told when he wasn't under _Imperius_.

"Alex?"

"Yes sir?"

"Why don't you look at us when your mother and I talk to you? Why don't you respond?"

"Because I'm mad and scared." Alex shrugged, "I understand that it's not your fault, but I don't wanna talk or anything. Stubborn, I guess." Lucius slowly nodded. At least that answered one question. He looked up when he heard a small _boom_ and frowned.

"What's going on?" Alex tilted his head.

"The Dark Lord's forces are trying to break in. Looks like the fight's begun." Lucius nodded, uneasy. He hadn't realized so much time had passed. Now would be when Voldemort would either win or lose the war. They stayed in the shed as the attacks went on, Lucius never giving Alex the order to attack, just waiting and hoping the shield would hold. But then there was a large _CRACK_ and Lucius watched through the windows in horror as the shield broke down from the combined efforts of the Death Eaters and Lord Voldemort. It wouldn't be long before the Dark Lord arrived. Just as he thought of it, said man apparated into the boathouse.

"Lucius." he said, "Any news?"

"So far only panic and preparing for war, my Lord." Lucius nodded, "They seem to be quite ready for you."

"I see. Allow me to gain control of him now." Lucius nodded and waved his wand. To switch users, the _Imperius_ Curse had the peculiar aspect of having to be cast again. As soon as he was released, Alex wasn't going to give them the chance again. He completely turned into his Obscurus form and spirited away. Because of the Obscurus being impervious to spells, there was no way they could control him in this form. Voldemort pursed his lips as Lucius shifted uncomfortably.

"M-my Lord?"

"This is not a setback. Not too bad, at least. He may fight on their side but a single Obscurus can't win the war." Lucius silently gave a sigh of relief. He wouldn't die. And, if he survived the fight, this would be the end of his involvement with the Dark Lord. The Malfoys were sly, but he'd had enough. He was sure Narcissa felt the same. Even if Voldemort didn't die today, they would be leaving, hopefully with both sons.

* * *

As soon as he'd fled, Alex searched for his family. Not the Malfoys, he knew what side they were on, but the Weasleys. George himself had said that he and Fred felt like brothers to Alex and the blond felt the same. He didn't know what he'd do if they'd gotten hurt or worse. He was distracted from the search by the events happening below, however. Death Eater and Defender alike were falling as they fought and, if Alex had been in human form, he would've gritted his teeth. He was high above the battle, but because of his characteristic of not being affected by spells in Obscurus form, he had the chance to do some good.

'_Will you help me?'_ he mentally asked the Obscurus. It hissed in acceptance and relinquished its control, understanding the situation, and so Alex dove into the fray. It was clear on who were enemies or friends and so he attacked the Death Eaters, starting with the quad battlements. The Order was doing a good job defending but they could always used a hand or two. Grabbing one of the Death Eaters by the ankle, Alex threw the man out the window One less Death Eater to deal with, hopefully, but then the castle shook and Alex realized why: The Death Eaters were using this as a distraction to get into the northern battlements. Leaving the Order behind he made his way over to defend the area.

Giants and Death Eaters alike were trying to get in but a group of students led by some of the Hogwarts Defenders were guarding the area. With enemies like the giants, though, they could be overrun quickly. Alex struck out, clawing at the eyes of the giants, it was a good enough distraction, especially since they couldn't grab him, and the Defenders were able to hold their ground. Suddenly, Alex gained a bad feeling, telling him that someone important to him was about to die. Looking over, he found that, amongst the Death Eaters trying to enter, was his crazed aunt, dueling with Tonks. Alex barely knew Tonks but anyone Bellatrix would try to kill was someone he had to save. Coming off his attack on the giants he flew at her and wrapped himself around her, trying to distract her from Tonks. Of course both women were surprised by this and Bellatrix used _Avada Kedavra_ to escape. Filled with the terrible pain as he had at the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Alex was forced to return to human form and was blasted to the ground, filled with such pain that he could barely move. But then Tonks was there, disarming Bellatrix, forcing the witch to flee. Tonks helped him to his feet as Alex tried to push away the pain. He had other things to focus on.

"You okay?" she asked. He nodded.

"Gotta go." he said and transformed, flying away. He still hadn't found any of the Weasleys. Where were they? Maybe he should've asked Tonks, but there was no point in going back. He'd made enough of an impact there, the giants were now fleeing even as the Death Eaters tried to hang on. They weren't getting in that way. But as he looked into the sky, Alex saw that it was no use, Death Eaters were apparating in and fighting despite the setback. But maybe he could finish a few off.

_It's like the Quidditch World Cup all over again._ he mused, then dove into the castle. Everywhere it was Death Eaters versus students or Defenders and Alex appearance made things easier for the Defenders' side. He lashed into the Death Eaters, taking several out at once. Their spells bounced off or flew through his smoky body, not harming him once. A few times he was hit by the Killing Curse and transformed back but pushed through it. A feeling was growing in his chest, another bad one, and it told him to find the twins. He had to find them, he just had to, one of them was going to get hurt or worse!

"_Avada-_" Alex threw out an arm and the Obscurus ripped the Death Eater apart. He didn't even think to completely transform, floating the Obscurus around him as he made his way up the stairs. There was no point to transform each and every time, he just had to get to the top, to the seventh floor. Upon reaching the top, his feeling intensified. He completely transformed to be able to go through the halls quickly and soon found Fred, Percy, Harry, Ron and Hermione. All five were dueling. Suddenly Percy sent a jinx at one of the Death Eaters, making spikes appear all over his body, and Fred stunned the other. Even when it was calm was when Alex's feeling increased and he could hear a small sound coming from outside the castle, something like high pitched whistling… Quickly recognizing it for the sound it was, he spread his form of the group of the five and took the brunt of the explosion. It knocked all of them off their feet but most everyone was uninjured. He was forced to return to human form after that, however, his head and body being raged by pain from all the various transformations and defenses.

"Alex!" Fred was the first by his side and they moved into a crevice, out of the line of fire, "Are you alright?!"

"As much as I can be." Alex was holding his head, "Are _you _okay?"

"Thanks to you, yeah." Fred peeked out of the crevice and quickly pulled back so that a spell wouldn't hit him.

"That's great." Alex nodded and lifted his head, standing. He leaned on the wall a little, trying to gain his balance again even as Fred tried to drag him back down.

"You're hurt!" Fred touched a wound on the side of Alex's head. The blond hadn't even noticed, "You need to get to the Great Hall and rest!"

"No." Alex said, "You go there, get some healing. I'll be fine."

"Al-" The teen didn't give him time to finish the sentence, transforming and flying out of the hall in a flash.

_Another life saved._ he thought. He floated down, around the castle, looking for others he could help, and stopped short. He could see his brother trying to flee down one of the halls and knew that was where he had to be. Gaining some energy he didn't know he still had, he dived and tore into the Death Eater that dared block Draco's way. His brother stumbled to a stop, gaping at his appearance, but Alex pushed him forward. They had to keep going. Draco nodded and ran ahead as Alex floated around him, helping to keep him safe. A few students tried to get in their way but Alex pushed them, knocking them down but not hurting them.

_"We're not a threat."_ he wanted to say, but he had no ability to do it as an Obscurus. And when they finally reached the ground floor, Alex transformed back and nearly collapsed. Draco had Alex lean on him and knew escaping with his little brother like this was impossible. Instead they stumbled into the Great Hall together and Draco tried to get someone to treat Alex, but they were almost held at wandpoint until someone recognized them.

"Stop!" It was Molly, "They're here to get help, not fight us!" She ushered the two boys to a nearby table. Draco looked around as Alex was laid down to be treated. He grimaced as saw the covered bodies that littered the floor among the wounded and knew that things had gone too far. He froze as he felt a wand rest on the back of his neck.

"Who let him in?!" hissed George.

"Leave him be." Bill made him lower his wand, "He's only trying to help his brother." Draco glanced back and gave him a grateful look.

"I should get going-" He was stopped by the Obscurus.

"You leave and I will knowingly put my health in greater jeopardy, you bastard." Alex snapped.

"Fine." Draco took a seat beside Alex as the Obscurus was returned. He felt very uncomfortable, trapped on this side of the war, but he also felt good, as he was protecting his brother, though it seemed to be the other way around at the moment. Suddenly things fell silent and a voice hummed through the air, amplified by magic. It was Voldemort.

_You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. In that time, you are allowed to gather your dead and dying, to flee if you can. Treat your injured if you still think you can defy me. One hour…_

Draco swallowed. One hour, then they would all likely die. He looked at his little brother. Alex's face was contorted in pain as Molly tended to him, trying to soothe what she could, and realized that he couldn't flee. He was Alex's big brother, supposed to protect the darker blond. Running away, even to find their parents, would break that promise. He couldn't do that, not to Alex, not to one of the only people he'd ever known who had it worse than him but still made the best of it.

_How do you do it?_ he wondered. It was at that moment Fred and Percy arrived and Fred, like George, seemed ready to kill Draco. Luckily, though, Percy managed to advise him against it. With them were Remus and Arthur. As Mr. Weasley hugged his wife, Remus went to Alex. Draco frowned, wondering what the man wanted with him, and then Remus began to speak.

"Alex?"

"Remus?" He opened his eyes. The man smiled.

"How are you feeling?"

"Good enough." Alex grunted, "What do you want?" He was still a little defensive around the older man and it showed.

"I wanted to thank you for what you did, saving Dora."

"Dora?"

"Tonks, my wife." Remus crouched to be more on Alex's level so that the teen wouldn't have to lift his head, "I don't know where I'd be without her. And after I made sure she was okay, that was when I realized I never apologized to you for my actions at the Burrow."

"You don't have to."

"Yes, I do. I was treating you like you were the mole, especially because of your family and your powers, and I am terribly sorry for that. You don't have to forgive me, but I just wanted to apologize." He stood up.

"You're forgiven." Remus gave Alex a surprised look. Alex went on, "I understand and I don't blame you. It felt good to hear it, though. As for saving Tonks… If I happened again, I'd still do it. There's been enough death as it is, no one else needs to die." Remus was silent for a moment.

"...Thank you, Alex." He left, going over to join Sirius and Tonks. Draco stared after the man for a moment, then back down at his brother. Alex's eyes were closed again. Draco let him lie. He needed the rest.

* * *

Alex and Draco stood together as Voldemort approached. Even if they couldn't see what had happened, they had the feeling they knew. Everyone knew. Harry Potter was dead. To the brothers, they had mixed feelings. Draco had been his enemy and Alex had been his friend, but neither wished this fate on Harry. And now that he was dead, it would be the end of their freedom, whatever was left.

Alex looked down when he felt someone grab his hand. It was Draco and his brother seemed to be nervous. Alex squeezed Draco's hand, reassuring that he was still there. Draco glanced at him and Alex mouthed, 'Everything's gonna be okay.' Draco nodded but was still skeptical. Even though they knew what was coming, it was still gut-retching to see the body of Harry resting in Hagrid's arms. Others slowly came out, gasping or crying at the sight while others were outraged, but all were silenced by a _bang_ and a flash of bright light.

"SILENCE!" Voldemort roared, then gestured, "It is over! Set him down, Hagrid, at my feet, where he belongs!" Once Harry was on the ground, he went on, "You see? Harry Potter is dead! Do you understand now, deluded ones? He was nothing, ever, but a boy who relied on others to sacrifice themselves for him! From this day forth, you will put your faith in me!"

"He beat you!" yelled Ron, and the charm broke, and the defenders of Hogwarts were shouting and screaming again until a second, more powerful _bang _extinguished their voices once more.

"He was killed while trying to sneak out of the castle grounds," said Voldemort, and there was relish in his voice for the claim, "killed while trying to save himself. But now, now is the time to join us. Whoever comes forward will be spared." There was silence for a moment. Right at the front, Alex could see his parents, standing anxiously, giving the brothers hopeful looks that they would step up. Voldemort gestured, "Please, come forward, the more of you who do not, the more of you will die." Draco made to move forward but Alex's grip stopped him. Alex shook his head when Draco gave him a pleading look. Unfortunately for them, the Dark Lord saw this.

"Oh? I see there's an issue of disagreement between the Malfoys." The brothers stiffened, "Young Alex, why don't you join us? Your brother wants to and you would be safe. No one would hurt you ever again."

"And putting me under _Imperius_ makes me safe?!" Alex exclaimed. Draco gave him a panicked look as their parents winced.

"If you would join us that wouldn't be necessary."

"Alex..." Draco hissed. The darker blond tightened his grip on his brother, then loosened it.

"Go if you want." he said lowly, "Harry was my friend. I'm not gonna tarnish his memory by joining his enemy." Draco didn't move.

"I'm not leaving you behind." And so Draco stayed. Voldemort quirked an eyebrow.

"I see brotherly love is having you stay together. So be it. Does anyone else wish to come forward and save themselves?" Then, slowly, Neville moved. There were gasps of shock. In his hands was a ratty old hat.

"And who is this?" he said in his soft snake's hiss, "Who might you be, my boy?" Bellatrix gave a laugh.

"It is Neville Longbottom, my Lord! The boy who has been giving the Carrows so much trouble! The son of the Aurors, remember?"

"Ah, yes, I remember," said Voldemort, looking at Neville, standing in the no-man's-land between the survivors and the Death Eaters, "But you are a pureblood, aren't you, my brave boy?" Voldemort asked Neville, who stood facing him, his hands curled in fists around the hat.

"So what if I am?" said Neville loudly.

"You show spirit and bravery, and you come of noble stock. You will make a very valuable Death Eater. We need your kind, Neville Longbottom."

"I'd like to say something." Voldemort contemplated it for a moment.

"Well, Neville, I'm sure we'd all be fascinated to hear what you have to say." He gestured for Neville to go on.

"It doesn't matterHarry's gone-"

"Stand down Neville." Seamus hissed.

"People die every day." Neville protested, going on, "Friends, family. Yeah, we lost Harry tonight. But he's still with us, in here." He put a hand on his chest, "So's Colin, Lavender, everyone who fought to protect this place. All of them are still with us in some way, they didn't die in vain." He turned back to Voldemort and tightened his grip on the hat, "But you will! Because you're wrong! Harry's heart did beat for us, for all of us!" He reached into the hat and pulled out a sword, making many gasp, "This is not over!"

Complete chaos commenced. Harry got to his feet and tried to strike the snake with a spell before fleeing, where Voldemort chased after him. A young giant ran to attack the other giants as centaurs came from the other direction, flying arrows into the crowd of Death Eaters. Because of Harry's distraction, making Voldemort go after him, the snake was left defenseless and Neville was able to chop off its head. Battle was recommencing among everyone, the Defenders and Death Eaters fighting each other and somehow bringing it into the Great Hall. Alex transformed to envelop Draco, protecting him. He was about to lift Draco away when his brother pushed through the ghostly tendrils, saying that they needed to find their parents. Alex agreed to an extent, but not in the middle of battle. Suddenly he was forced to transform back, crying out in pain after taking the brunt of another Killing Curse. Draco grabbed him, keeping him from hitting the floor, but he was still in terrible pain. All the defending was taking its toll on him. Even as Draco kept Alex on his feet, leaning on each other, they were still being pushing into the Great Hall. This was where the battle would end, somehow. Harry had survived once again, but if he died this time, it was over. Same thing for Voldemort. No matter what happened, the battle would be decided here and now.

Draco flinched when he felt something go by his leg. Looking down, he found house elves swarming the feet of Death Eaters, stabbing their ankles and such. It was a wonder why they were leaving Alex and Draco alone but the elder brother wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. There was another surge and they were pushed farther into the hall, but luckily, Alex seemed to be coming to his senses again.

"We need to get out of here." Alex panted.

"No shit, Sherlock." Draco quipped. Alex snorted.

"Where'd you learn that?"

"Do I really have the time to tell you right now?"

"Point taken." Alex dug inside himself, trying to bring the Obscurus out, and was promptly mentally smacked in the face. The Obscurus gave a silent hiss before settling down again and this worried Alex, "I can't get it out, the Obscurus won't come out."

"Then I'll make a way out." Draco took his wand and pointed at part of the crowd, ready to fire. But then they heard the screams from their parents, looking for them.

_"We're here!"_ Alex wanted to shout, but his voice wasn't up to doing anything of the sort. He had to rely on Draco to get them out of this.

"_Incendio_!" Draco set fire to the edges of robes, causing the duelers to move away, trying to put out the flames. There was a small pathway now and they made their way through, Draco using spells to protect them as they tried to find their parents. Eventually they came across them and were enveloped in hugs.

"My boys..." Lucius sniffed, holding Alex to his chest, "I'm so, so sorry..."

"I can't believe what you did!" Narcissa was scolding.

"But we're okay now, right?" Draco said.

"Yes, yes you are." Narcissa hugged him. It was then that the family noticed that a sort of quiet had descended over the hall. Looking around, the crowd had gathered around the middle as defeated or dead Death Eaters laid down. This was their chance to flee, but something kept them in place. A sense that something major was about to happen. Suddenly they could hear Harry's voice, going back and forth with Voldemort.

"I don't want anyone else to try to help. It's got to be like this. It's gotta be me."

"Potter doesn't mean that. That isn't how he works, is it? Who are you going to use as a shield today, Potter?"

"Nobody. There are no more Horcruxes. It's just you and me. Neither can live while the other survives, and one of us is about to leave for good…"

"One of us?You think it will be you, do you, the boy who has survived by accident, and because Dumbledore was pulling the strings?"

"Accident, was it, when my mother died to save me? Accident, when I decided to fight in that graveyard? Accident, that I didn't defend myself tonight, and still survived, and returned to fight again?"

"_Accidents!_ Accident and chance and the fact that you crouched and sniveled behind the skirts of greater men and women, and permitted me to kill them for you!"

"You won't be killing anyone else tonight. You won't be able to kill any of them ever again. Don't you get it? I was ready to die to stop you from hurting these people —"

"But you did not!"

"— I meant to, and that's what did it. I've done what my mother did. They're protected from you. Haven't you noticed how none of the spells you put on them are binding? You can't torture them. You can't touch them. You don't learn from your mistakes, Riddle, do you?"

"_You dare_ —"

"Yes, I dare. I know things you don't know, Tom Riddle. I know lots of important things that you don't. Want to hear some, before you make another big mistake?"

"Is it love again? Dumbledore's favorite solution, _love_, which he claimed conquered death, though love did not stop him falling from the tower and breaking like an old waxwork? _Love_, which did not prevent me stamping out your Mudblood mother like a cockroach, Potter — and nobody seems to love you enough to run forward this time and take my curse. So what will stop you dying now when I strike?"

"Just one thing."

"If it is not love that will save you this time, you must believe that you have magic that I do not, or else a weapon more powerful than mine?"

"I believe both." Voldemort began to laugh.

"You think _you _know more magic than I do? Than _I_, than Lord Voldemort, who has performed magic that Dumbledore himself never dreamed of?"

"Oh, he dreamed of it, but he knew more than you, knew enough not to do what you've done."

"You mean he was weak! Too weak to dare, too weak to take what might have been his, what will be mine!"

No, he was cleverer than you, a better wizard, a better man."

"I brought about the death of Albus Dumbledore!"

"You thought you did, but you were wrong." Everyone drew a breath.

"_Dumbledore is dead!_ His body decays in the marble tomb in the grounds of this castle, I have seen it, Potter, and he will not return!"

"Yes, Dumbledore's dead, but you didn't have him killed. He chose his own manner of dying, chose it months before he died, arranged the whole thing with the man you thought was your servant."

"What childish dream is this?"

"Severus Snape wasn't yours. Snape was Dumbledore's, Dumbledore's from the moment you started hunting down my mother. And you never realized it, because of the thing you can't understand. You never saw Snape cast a Patronus, did you, Riddle?" Voldemort didn't answer, and so Harry went on, "Snape's Patronus was a doe, the same as my mother's, because he loved her for nearly all of his life, from the time when they were children. You should have realized. He asked you to spare her life, didn't he?"

_That explains that, I suppose._ Narcissa thought. She had once seen Snape's Patronus, a long time ago, and she had always wondered why it had been a doe for such a dark man.

"He desired her, that was all," sneered Voldemort, "but when she had gone, he agreed that there were other women, and of purer blood, worthier of him —"

"Of course he told you that," said Harry, "but he was Dumbledore's spy from the moment you threatened her, and he's been working against you ever since! Dumbledore was already dying when Snape finished him!"

"It matters not! It matters not whether Snape was mine or Dumbledore's, or what petty obstacles they tried to put in my path! I crushed them as I crushed your mother, Snape's supposed great love! Oh, but it all makes sense, Potter, and in ways that you do not understand! Dumbledore was trying to keep the Elder Wand from me! He intended that Snape should be the true master of the wand! But I got there ahead of you, little boy — I reached the wand before you could get your hands on it, I understood the truth before you caught up. I killed Severus Snape three hours ago, and the Elder Wand, the Deathstick, the Wand of Destiny is truly mine! Dumbledore's last plan went wrong, Harry Potter!"

"Yeah, it did. You're right. But before you try to kill me, I'd advise you to think about what you've done… Think, and try for some remorse, Riddle…"

"What is this?"

"It's your one last chance, it's all you've got left… I've seen what you'll be otherwise… Be a man...try...Try for some remorse…" Was Harry actually trying to plead with Voldemort?

"You dare — ?"

"Yes, I dare, because Dumbledore's last plan hasn't backfired on me at all. It's backfired on you, Riddle. That wand still isn't working properly for you because you murdered the wrong person. Severus Snape was never the true master of the Elder Wand. He never defeated Dumbledore."

"He killed —"

"Aren't you listening? _Snape never beat Dumbledore!_ Dumbledore's death was planned between them! Dumbledore intended to die undefeated, the wand's last true master! If all had gone as planned, the wand's power would have died with him, because it had never been won from him!"

"But then, Potter, Dumbledore as good as gave me the wand! I stole the wand from its last master's tomb! I removed it against its last master's wishes! Its power is mine!"

"You still don't get it, Riddle, do you? Possessing the wand isn't enough! Holding it, using it, doesn't make it really yours. Didn't you listen to Ollivander? _The wand chooses the wizard_… The Elder Wand recognized a new master before Dumbledore died, someone who never even laid a hand on it. The new master removed the wand from Dumbledore against his will, never realizing exactly what he had done, or that the world's most dangerous wand had given him its allegiance..." Harry was coming up to a big secret and the Malfoys strained to listen, "The true master of the Elder Wand was Draco Malfoy." Draco nearly choked on his own spit when he heard this. _He'd_ been the master of the Elder Wand?! How had he never known?! It was then when Voldemort began speaking again.

"But what does it matter?" he said softly, "Even if you are right, Potter, it makes no difference to you and me. You no longer have the phoenix wand: We duel on skill alone… and after I have killed you, I can attend to Draco Malfoy..." Narcissa shifted uneasily. If push came to shove, she would put herself between her son and the Dark Lord. He was still her son and no harm would come to him, she would make sure of it.

"But you're too late." said Harry, "You've missed your chance. I got there first. I overpowered Draco weeks ago. I took this wand from him. So it all comes down to this, doesn't it? Does the wand in your hand know its last master was Disarmed? Because if it does… I am the true master of the Elder Wand." The sun suddenly came up and that was when the two wizards struck.

"_Avada Kedavra_!"

"_Expelliarmus_!" The _bang _was explosive and the Elder Wand flew through the air. Harry caught it and everyone knew that, finally, the war was over. Voldemort was dead. Cheers and screams and roars rent the air, cheering for the victory, and the Malfoys shared a hug. They would be safe now, at least, for the most part.

"Why don't we leave now?" Lucius suggested. Narcissa and Draco quickly agreed, but Alex did not.

"Wait." He struggled to his feet, trying to push off the support of his father. Still weak, he was barely able to do so, "I need to speak to Harry."

"We can do that another time." Narcissa took one of Alex's hands, "We're going now." She said it in such a tone that Alex knew he wouldn't win the argument against her. Together they walked out of the Great Hall, away from the chaos and excitement. Draco glanced back into the hall, wondering why Alex wanted to talk to Harry, then decided his mother was right. It could wait for another time. Now, the family just had to stay together.


	7. Trapped in Decisions

**Dear Readers,**

**Before you go on further, I do have a few things to note. 1, the café in this chapter is a real caf****é in England. 2, Mimsy may or may not be one of the Malfoys' house elves, I don't know for sure. If not, I made her up. And 3, there may be a gay romance later in this story. I'm still going a little back and forth on that. I wanted to let you know about it ahead of time so you could decide to keep reading the story or not.**

**Now, I hope you enjoy the story!**

* * *

**1999:**

George held the door open for Fred as they entered a small café, shivering as they entered from a colder place. It was the middle of January and had been half a year since the Battle of Hogwarts. They had been busy with their shop and getting their lives back in order but recently Draco had sent them a letter, asking to meet them here, at the Coffee, Cake and Kisses café. On one of the walls were several cards, describing the perfect kisses people would like, and from their research, the twins knew that it was a 'good place to talk,' welcoming all kinds of people. They had wondered why Draco asked to meet them here, in a muggle café, then reasoned that he probably had a good reason. Glancing around, Fred spotted Draco first and grabbed George's arm, leading them over.

"Hey." greeted Fred, a little uncomfortably, "How is everything?" Draco shook his head.

"Not good." he muttered.

"How's Alex, though?" asked George. They'd kept in touch with the younger brother up until just before Christmas, where he hadn't responded to their last letter yet.

"I came here to talk about that, actually." Draco glanced at a watch on his wrist, "Do you mind waiting until the others arrive?"

"Uh, sure." Fred and George, as close as they were to Alex, still felt like enemies to the older Malfoy, despite Alex's best efforts to make them friends, or at least tolerate one another. So far he'd only managed to complete the latter. As they waited, the twins got drinks and an order of peanut butter cupcakes to share. Draco was staring into staring into his coffee the whole time, a forlorn look on his face. The twins didn't know what to do and it made them even more uneasy. Fred contemplated trying to make conversation before the door pinged open and in came Harry, Ron, and Hermione. The twins were as surprised to see the trio as they were but it didn't take long for them to exchange stories. Like Draco had asked Fred and George, he'd also asked Harry, Hermione, and even Ron to meet with him. Things were not adding up as a tense air hung around them.

"So, what's this all about?" Harry asked after they'd exchanged greetings, settling in. Draco made a small gesture.

"Get some drinks. I'm still trying to figure out how to explain this." Everyone exchanged glances but did as they were told, Ron ordering another set of peanut butter cupcakes to eat while they waited.

"Not as good as Mum's but still pretty good!" he mumbled through the food.

"Don't speak with your mouth full!" Hermione berated, "_Honestly_, Ron..."

"Back to Draco." George said, looking at the blond, "Why are we here?"

"...Promise you won't kill me?"

"Why would we wanna kill you?" Fred narrowed his eyes, "This has something to do with Alex, doesn't it. Why we haven't heard from him in weeks." Draco nodded.

"He's… he's gone missing."

"You're sure?" asked Harry, "Like last time?"

"I guess." Draco hadn't looked at any of them once since they'd arrived, "A few days after Christmas he left home, said he was gonna get a few things, but he never came back. I looked around the manor, especially in the hidden passages Alex liked so much, and found that he'd left this behind." Draco took out a piece of paper and slid it to Hermione. She raised an eyebrow but began to read it aloud, quietly enough so that they wouldn't be overheard but loud enough for the table to understand her.

_'Dear Draco,_

_'I hid this in the one place I knew was safe, where you'd be the only one to find it._

_'When I went into hiding, away from you and the Weasleys, I was among the Muggles and I think I may have accidentally raised their suspicions. I know I was followed many times until the Death Eaters came for me. They didn't give up, either. I saw one of them again, a few days ago. That's why I left, so I wouldn't lead them home, to Mum and Dad and you. We just defeated Voldemort, we don't need to get anyone in trouble so soon._

_'I'm scared, though. Terrified they'll want something from me, what they'll do to me to get it. That's why I left this behind. They're my memories, one of my wizard friends showed me how to take them out. They can only be viewed in a thing called a pensieve. Just in case the Muggles _do _get me… I don't want you to forget me. See things through my eyes once or twice, see what it's like to have an Obscurus inside you. You might be surprised._

_'I'll be home sometime, as soon as they lose interest in me. If I don't come home, though, tell Mum and Dad what I did, that I love them. Love you too, Draco._

_'With utmost regret, Alex'_

"He sounds like he thinks he's gonna die." said Ron.

"And did he really leave behind a vial of memories?" asked Hermione, impressed. Draco nodded.

"I think so. I've got the vial on me."

"Why didn't you ask us to come sooner?!" George hissed. It was bad enough Alex went missing, but if he actually thought he was gonna die? That scared him and Fred more than they would like to admit.

"I tried looking for him but ran into a dead end. That's why I asked you all to come here." Draco lifted his head and they could see the worried sadness in his face, his eyes. He gestured to the trio, "You three have a knock for getting into trouble and solving mysteries. I hope you'll be able to help me find Alex."

"And us?" asked Fred.

"I know how close you were to Alex and thought I might as well inform you. You can join us if you want, but it was mostly to inform you of what was going on."

"Of course we'll join!" said George.

"He's like a little brother to us!" added Fred, "We'll do everything we can to find him!" For the first time since they met up, Draco gave a small smile, even if it was still tinged with sadness.

"Thank you."

"But what about your parents?" Harry asked, "Surely they're also trying to find him!" Draco glanced away, once again saddened.

"Potter… I may have done something very terrible about that. After the first few days, we looked everywhere and my parents were getting more and more worried and furious. I was afraid that they might get themselves into trouble, get our family more into trouble, and like Alex said, we don't need that right now. I _Obliviated_ their memories of Alex, told them I was just going off to study Potions for my career after I did it."

"Draco..." Hermione knew how it felt to do such a drastic thing and laid a hand on one of his arms.

"I regret it, Granger, but it was the right thing to do. Wasn't it?" He looked at her.

"I can't tell you if it was. I did it to protect my parents and you did it for the same reason. After this is over, you can always restore their memories. For right now, though, we need to find Alex."

"Right." Draco nodded.

"Let's head into a more secure place before you give us what you found out." Harry was looking over his shoulder, "I think we may have company." Trying not to make it obvious, the others also glanced at where Harry was staring. A couple had just come in, laughing and smiling, but there was something off about it, as if they didn't fit. Harry went on, "Let's go out in pairs and apparate to Grimmauld Place. Draco, you're with me. Everyone else, wait a while before you go out too." And with that the dark-haired wizard stood. Draco stood with him and they walked out. Taking one of Harry's hands, Draco was apparated with him to the front steps of the building. Draco had never seen the place before and was awed when it appeared before him, between the buildings. Harry knocked on the door and they were let inside by Sirius.

"Harry!" greeted the man, who hugged his godson, "How have you been?"

"It's only been an hour." Harry protested, smiling nonetheless. After they separated, that's when Sirius took note of Draco. He raised an eyebrow, letting his hand trail down to a pocket, to which Harry explained, "He asked for help. Alex went missing again." Sirius' eyes widened.

"When does that boy never learn?! Come in, come in!" Sirius let them in and Harry told him that the others would be coming soon. As the two spoke, Draco looked around. His aunt had told him a little about this place but it was amazing to see with his own eyes, despite the disrepair. That reminded him of when he'd been told about Bellatrix's death. It had saddened him a little at first, but then he realized he was much better off. Bella had always been very 'off her rocker,' as the Muggles said, so it was probably better for everyone that she was dead.

"Is he staying with you?" Draco turned at the voice, taken out of his thoughts.

"He left home to find his little brother, he's allowed to stay wherever he wants." Harry was defending him. Draco couldn't help but be astonished at it and a little glad. He didn't think Harry would defend him after all he'd done but maybe he was wrong.

"Well, take any room you want, then." said Sirius, "I'll keep a look out for the others."

"Thanks." Harry nodded before guiding Draco upstairs. They headed to one of the bedrooms and opened the door. Inside was Kreacher.

"Master Potter." He gave both men a dark look.

"Leave us alone, Kreacher."

"As you wish." The elf disappeared with a snap of the fingers.

"How long have you been away from home?"

"Just a few hours." Draco put a hand on one of his pockets, "Only thing I brought with me is my wand."

"How's it doing for you, by the way?" Harry seemed a little sheepish asking it. Draco took out his wand and looked it over.

"Well enough." He put it back, "Haven't done any duels with it, though. Pretty sure the allegiance is still to you."

"Sorry about that. You know my wand was broken at the time, right?" Draco glanced up, surprised.

"How? Your wand is fine now!"

"I know that." Harry took out his own wand, "I used the Elder Wand to fix it before putting it back with Dumbledore. It works just fine now."

"Well, I'm glad mine was used for something good." Draco said, "Can't say the same for my father's wand. It broke when Voldemort fought you at the Battle of the Seven Potters." Harry gave a slow nod.

"So _that's_ why there was no _Priori Incantatem_."

"What?"

"The Reverse Spell. It's what happens when wands with cores from the same exact animal cast spells at one another and they match. Happened when I first really found Voldemort, in the graveyard during the Triwizard Tournament."

"The more I stick around you the more I learn, Potter." Draco shook his head. Harry smiled.

"Well, for right now, settle down in one of the bedrooms. We may have to share so get used to it. I'll send a letter off to McGonagall to ask for Dumbledore's pensieve. It'll allow us to view Alex's memories and make sure they're his." Harry paused at the door, "And Draco?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for not being a prick about this, for asking for help when you needed it, for telling us about Alex. He's our friend too." And then Harry was gone. Draco stood in the room for a moment, then took a seat on one of the beds. He wasn't looking forward to the conversation he'd have to have with them all, explaining all that he knew about the situation. But he knew he had to, especially once everyone arrived.

"I don't think we were followed." George said.

"They were Muggles, _how_ could they follow us?" Fred quipped.

"You'd be surprised." Hermione added. They were gathered around the kitchen table now with Sirius as Draco prepared to explain.

"Here's all that I know." Draco took out a piece of parchment with a list on it, "He disappeared the 27th, saying he was gonna go get some groceries, but he never came back. The next day I tried going to the grocers but he explained that Alex never came by, so I searched around but no one had seen Alex. I went home and told my parents, so we went looking together. A few people had seen him elsewhere, nowhere near the grocers, over in London. We looked and looked but couldn't find anything, which stressed out Mother and Father. It was around the 11th that I found the note in the passageways, wondering if Alex may have left a clue behind, and that's when I knew I had to find him alone. Today's the 15th, I _Obliviated_ their memories a few hours ago."

"So he's been sighted in London?" asked Ron, "That can't be too hard." Everyone gave him incredulous looks.

"Ron… Do you have any idea how _big_ London is?" asked Harry slowly.

"It'll be like trying to find a needle in a haystack." George put his head in his hands. Fred patted his back.

"We'll find him." he assured, even if he didn't sound confident.

"How far did you get in London?" asked Sirius. He'd been told more about the situation earlier and was trying to help.

"Not far." Draco shook his head, "Only a few people had seen him but not anywhere substantial. Just in public places and not in the same place twice." Sirius frowned.

"Hmm..." He left the room.

"Have you tried asking the Ministry to help?" Draco gave Harry a dark look.

"And have my family subject to more smears by the Prophet and aurors alike? No thank you."

"They could help, though." Hermione protested, "Especially since he's an Obscurus."

"The less people that know about that the better." Draco said, "If the Ministry finds out what he is, they could arrest him or worse, just to study the Obscurus."

"He's got a point." Fred murmured.

"From what Percy's said, it's likely they'd do that, even under Kingsley." added George.

"So we have no leads." Harry surmised, "Not until we get a look at those memories. Maybe he put something in them for us to see."

"Hopefully." Draco muttered, little of said hope in his voice. It was then that Sirius returned, a piece of paper in hand.

"A while back, when Alex stayed with me, Albus sent this." He handed the paper to Draco, "Trelawney gave another prophecy. He thought it had something to do with Alex." As Draco read the prophecy aloud, they had to admit that Dumbledore may have been right.

"_The beast will overcome those that swear to tame it, only to fall when he who knows little love learns to love again. Before it ends, sense of self will die and brotherhood knows no more. Born just before the day of Love, the beast switches hands again and again and again and Death will follow until the end of its days. Death and Beast are intertwined and will never separate, even at the efforts of brotherhood. Death will come for the beast many times but it will only go when it decides to be tamed. Brotherhood will be nevermore, nevermore, NEVERMORE!_"

"I hope this isn't happening now." Draco growled, "I don't wanna lose him."

"Neither do the rest of us." said Fred, "But at least it's a lead."

"Let's try analyzing it, see what we can get from it." George suggested. And that's what they did, looking into it as best they could. Prophecies were never clear cut, always interpretation-based, anything could be taken from it, but it was clear enough to the point that they knew it referenced Alex. This didn't settle any nerves.

* * *

_"He has to be out there somewhere!" Lucius spoke, examining a map of London with Narcissa. They were sitting in the library, trying to figure out where Alex could be. Draco was watching from the doorway, listening in to their plans it had been days since they'd last seen Alex and it was a very depressing and stressed feeling. His presents were still scattered about his room and Draco couldn't help but think of what could be happening to his little brother right now._

_"I'm sure he is." Narcissa assured, "Why not Hyde Park? Let's go there first thing tomorrow."_

_"He was also seen in front of the London Eye. We should check there too." Lucius pointed to the place on the map. As they continued to discuss, Draco thought about all the trouble they could get into and it made him frown. They'd already gotten into enough trouble with the Ministry just being on Voldemort's side, what would happen if they kept looking for Alex? Draco wanted to find him ASAP, but what would it do to his family? Would they get in trouble just being out and about with Muggles too much? It was worrying to think about, not to mention the note he'd found that Alex had left behind. Maybe he should go it alone?_

_"Mother, Father?" Draco stepped into the room. They glanced up from the map._

_"Yes, Draco?" asked Narcissa._

_"Are you sure being around Muggles so much is a good idea?" They gave him surprised looks._

_"If it means finding Alex, then yes." said Lucius, "Don't you want him found?"_

_"Of course I do, I'm just worried about us. What if we get in more trouble with the Ministry?"_

_"Draco, I believe it will be near impossible for us to do that unless we kill someone." Narcissa deadpanned, "Unless you have any other objections, then I suggest you help us." Draco gritted his teeth._

_"Yes Mother." He went over to help them but as he did so, a plan began forming in his mind. He'd have to wait for when they fell asleep, but he'd be going out and finding Alex on his own, whether or not his parents didn't want him to. It took a few hours but eventually they got ready for bed. Draco laid in bed, awake and waiting for when they fell asleep. He was only taking his wand, the vial, and the list he'd made of what they'd found. He'd also sent letters to Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George to meet up tomorrow if they could. It was last minute, but he had the feeling they'd do it. Even if he was going alone, he knew he'd needed help, but not from his parents. They didn't need any more damage to their reputation than they already had. After an hour of lying in the dark, Draco got up and, gripping his wand tightly, he crept down the hall to his parents' bedroom. Slowly opening the door, he found them asleep and was glad the door didn't creak. His hand was shaking but he forced it to steady as he pointed his wand._

_"_Obliviate_." he whispered. It tore at his heart what he was doing but he didn't think he had a choice. He had to do this, if just to spare them from the anxiety and hurt that would surely follow if he left to find Alex and they knew about it. Once he was done, he went downstairs to be sure, checking some of the photographs. In every one that should have Alex, the darker blond was gone. Draco was the only one that remembered him in the Malfoy family, and that was how it would have to be. He returned to his room with a heavy heart before calling for one of the house elves._

_"Mimsy?"_

_"Yes, Master Draco?" The little elf appeared before him._

_"Tomorrow, after I leave, I want you to take care of my parents. Don't tell them that I'm going after Alex. I erased their memories of him so they wouldn't be hurt anymore."_

_"I understand, Master Draco. Will you find him?"_

_"I will. I won't come home until I do."_

_"Please do." Mimsy shifted uncomfortably._

_"Do you wish to say something?"_

_"Y-yes, Master Draco. We house elves here, in the manor, we very much wish for Alex to come home safe. Before anyone wanted to treat us nicely, he was the first. He made our lives better." There were tears welling up in Mimsy's eyes, "Please bring Alex home safe." Draco gave a soft smile._

_"I promise." He gave her a hug before sending her away. It lifted the burden on his heart a little. It took a long time before he was able to fall asleep and all too soon his mother was waking him up._

_"You slept in today." she quipped, "Did you stay up?"_

_"A bit." he nodded, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. He paused, "Do you plan on going anywhere today, Mother?"_

_"No, not particularly. Why?" Draco shook his head._

_"Nothing." He stood up, "I'm planning on going out today to expand my knowledge on Potions for my career. I don't know when I'll be back, but it won't be for at least a week." Narcissa raised an eyebrow._

_"I see." She handed him a suit, "Please be careful around the Muggles." She sniffed at the mention of them. Draco winced._

_"Yes Mother." He waited until she left before he put the suit in the closet, grabbing some more Muggle-like clothes so that he would blend in. He went downstairs, trying to avoid Narcissa as he did so, and ran into his father in the kitchen. He was reading the Daily Prophet and sipping coffee and glanced up when Draco came in. The teen wasn't planning to stay long, just grab something to eat before apparating off, but then his father was dragging him into conversation._

_"Where are you going so quickly, Draco?" he asked, eyebrow raised._

_"I'm going out to do more research for my career. I won't be home for some time. Have to be there early." Lucius nodded._

_"Well, good luck." He went back to his paper. Draco grabbed an apple and a Pop Tart, a Muggle invention Alex had snuck into their home once. Lucius now had a crippling addiction to them, especially the strawberry ones with frosting. Hopefully his parents wouldn't notice they were a Muggle invention, for it seemed that Alex's influence on them had completely gone away. It hurt so much what he was doing, but it was for the best, right?_

_Right?_


	8. Memory Mine

**Dear Readers,**

**Most of the flashbacks in this chapter are from the earlier chapters and you can skip them if you want, most are short, but some have small changes to them, but only in non-italics. There's also two flashbacks that are really important that aren't from the other chapters, so you might not wanna skip those.**

* * *

Draco woke up from his dream-memory with an irritated sigh. Barely two days after what he'd done and his dreams were being haunted by guilt. Hopefully he'd get used to it soon enough and it wouldn't bother him too much.

"Hey, Malfoy, you awake?" It was Ron. Draco covered his head with the pillow.

"Go away, Weasley." He had gotten a room to himself, which was better for him, so he wondered why Ron was peeking into the room.

"Just wondering if you were awake yet, prick." Ron said.

"Leave him be." said Hermione. It seemed she was there too. Ron grumbled but left, where Hermione peeked in instead, "Sorry about him. Breakfast is ready and you might wanna head down. Ron'll eat it all up if you don't."

"Thank you, Granger." He waved a hand. As soon as Hermione was gone, Draco uncovered his head. He had to get ready first and so pulled out his clothes from yesterday. Eventually he'd have to get more clothes, he couldn't keep wearing these the whole time. As he grabbed his clothes, he noticed another set on a chair in the room a note on top. Draco paused, staring at the clothing for a moment, then slowly went over.

'_Since you only had your wand on you and I have a few sets of clothes stashed here, I thought you might like to have another pair, just in case. We're about the same size, right?_

' _\- Harry'_

Draco stared at the letter, then the clothes. He blinked, then turned around and went back to his own clothes.

"Who does Potter think he is? I'm fine with these." Draco sniffed his shirt before his nose wrinkled, "Just need to be washed is all." Throwing on his clothes, Draco made sure he had everything before going downstairs. As soon as he was on the ground floor, even from the stairwell, he could smell the delicious odor. His mouth watered and he entered the room, glad to find that not all the food was gone.

"Leave some for the rest of us, why don't you?" he quipped, grabbing a seat at the table. Ron shrugged.

"Hey, _you_ were the one still in bed." Draco rolled his eyes. Harry and Sirius were the only ones not at the table, Hermione and Ron eating while the twins were working on some sort of cube. Draco watching them work with it for a moment and wondered what they were doing.

"Another of your pranks?" he asked.

"Nope." said George, "A muggle invention."

"Ever heard of a Rubik's Cube?" asked Fred. Draco gave them a look that clearly said, 'Do you really think I would?' Fred shrugged, "Thought I might as well ask."

"What's it supposed to do, anyway?" asked Ron, curious.

"It's a toy, Ron." said Hermione, "You try to get the same colors on the same side to match them. If all the sides have the right colors then you win. Whole competitions are made around how fast you can solve a Rubik's Cube."

"We were thinking of making it into one of our jokes but with a few changes, y'know?" George explained.

"It's pretty tough on its own, though." Fred admitted.

"Never ask me to solve one." said Draco before going back to his food. Harry popped his head in.

"Hey, McGonagall answered pretty quickly, but she wants us to go to Hogwarts to do this." he said, "We'll be leaving in an hour or two, so make sure you're ready to head out." And then he left.

"Do you all really think there could be something in Alex's memories that might help us find him?" Draco asked quietly. This caused everyone to pause.

"He said that he'd noticed certain Muggles following him before he copied his memories, so there's probably something very recent that will help us." said Hermione.

"I was kinda thinking about that too. Do you think he was scared his memory was gonna be taken?" Ron asked.

"No way, Muggles don't have technology that can do that...do they?" Fred said. Everyone looked to Hermione. She shook her head.

"Not possible. Maybe there's a wizard mixed in that we don't know about?"

"Well, we'll find out soon enough." George fiddled with the Rubik's Cube. Draco hoped he was right.

* * *

One apparition later, they were on the grounds of Hogwarts. It had taken a while to fix the castle and it wasn't completely done, but school had started that year, as it had every year, and students were still going to Hogwarts. They made their way up to the Headmistress' Office, though they did get some awed and angry looks (the angry and loathing ones were mostly sent Draco's way, if not always). Once they were at the gargoyle, Harry spoke the password.

"Felix the Cat." he said, and the gargoyle moved to let them pass.

"_Really_?" said Hermione, "Of all the things that could be the password, she chose that old cartoon?" Harry shrugged.

"Hey, Dumbledore loved sweets. It's McGonagall's choice of what the password should be. Now let's go, we don't wanna keep her waiting." They traveled up the stairs and into the Headmistress' Office, most of them greeting the woman like old friends. Draco stood there awkwardly, wondering when they would be able to use the pensieve. The sooner they'd be able to find Alex the better.

"It's nice to see you all again." she said, "Even you, Mr. Malfoy." Draco flinched.

"Can we _please_ get on with this?" he pleaded, "I don't want to sound mean, Headmistress, but being here is making me uncomfortable." McGonagall nodded and gestured.

"Mr. Potter, I believe you already know where it is?"

"Yes ma'am." Harry opened one of the curio cabinets to the right and inside was what seemed to be a thin, disc-like bowl, "Draco, the memories?" Draco took the vial from a pocket and handed it over to Harry. The blond watched the mist fall from the bottle and into the bowl, where it hit some sort of surface and rippled like water.

"Should we all go in?" asked Ron, "Or just some of us?"

"We should all go in, just in case someone misses something." said Fred.

"Well, don't come crying to me if you get spooked." Harry took the pensieve from where it rested and put it on one of the tables in the room so they could gather around it better, "Now, you just have to put your face in it and you can see the memories. Because Alex probably put all his memories in here, we have to sort through them to get answers."

"First we should find one that makes sure these are Alex's memories." Hermione turned to Draco, "I hate to put you on the spot, but is there a memory only you and Alex know?" Draco bit his lip.

"There are a few, but there's one I know for certain is just the two of us. You have to promise not to tell anyone about it, though. It's… it's a very personal memory."

"Don't worry about us, Malfoy." said Fred.

"We kept the secret for years." added George.

"Speaking of which, we might wanna put another Fidelius Charm of Alex, just in case."

"He's around Muggles now, y'know? Never can be too careful."

"We'll deal with that later." said Harry, "Is everyone ready?" They all nodded, and he instructed them to put their faces into the pensieve, one by one. Draco was first, as he would give the groundwork of what memories they would be seeing. Hesitantly, Draco put his face to the liquid, which sucked him in as if he was apparating. All he could see were murky surroundings for a moment, and then it all became clear. It was like a blue-tinted version of black-and-white, but he was definitely in the Manor again. Slowly the others joined him and, though a few brought out their wands, Harry told them there was no need.

"Nothing hurts you here. You're basically a ghost, nothing touches you."

"So what are we looking for?" asked Ron. Draco gave a small swallow, making it past the lump in his throat.

"Crying." He started walking down the hall, trying to hear any sound of the crying he knew so well, and when he came across it, he put his hand to the wall. It passed through, to which he followed it, coming out into the remains of what had been a converted meeting room, early in his life. He was surprised that Alex remembered it so well after so long. And there he was crying his heart out. His little brother, back in an 11-year-old mind and body. It made his heart pang, what he was seeing.

"What...are we looking at?"

"This is the night after Alex had the Obscurus the first time. We were both eleven." Draco murmured, "After I got him out of his shock, he wouldn't stop crying all day. He came up here to be alone, but I couldn't leave him like that." Just as Draco said those words, the door opened behind him and in came his 11-year-old self. Without his hair being gelled and combed back, the boy looked as if he was as innocent as could be.

"_Alex?"_ he asked. There were sniffs from his brother.

_"Go away."_ he whimpered.

_"Alex, it's okay."_ Draco entered the room and sat beside Alex, who was sitting against one of the remaining walls. The explosion had taken out much of the roof but parts still stood. They could also see a lot of the sky, since the roof was gone. Past!Draco went on, "_None of this is your fault."_

_"Of course it is!"_ snapped Past!Alex, "_Dad's gonna punish me for this as soon as you're back to Hogwarts."_

_"He won't. I'll make sure of it."_

_"And how will you do that?"_

_"Father listens to me. If I wanted him to, he'd put a hippogriff on trial!"_ Everyone winced.

"Really?"

"Shut up, Potter. There was no way I would've known."

_"They're not bad beasts, they're actually really cool. How many times do I have to tell you that?"_ Past!Alex shook his head, "_But it won't save me. I'm worse than a hundred hippogriffs combined!"_

_"You're not."_ protested Past!Draco, "_You just made a bad choice. You thought Father was in danger and you defended him."_

_"I also destroyed half the manor."_

_"No one will be mad at you, Alex."_ Past!Draco assured, "_And if they do, I'll stop them!"_

_"How?"_ Past!Alex sniffed. Past!Draco looked guilty, glancing away.

_"After Father told me what happened, after all the crying you've done today, I thought about it and I realized that, as your big brother, I'm supposed to protect you. And I will do that as much as I can for as long as I can. No one will hurt you as long as I live."_

_"That's a big boast for a guy who's only friends are his lackeys."_

_"Crabbe and Goyle aren't lackeys!"_

_"Big, dumb, and full of beetle dung, I'm pretty sure they're lackeys. If not, then I don't know what they are!"_

_"Alex!"_ But by now Past!Alex was actually smiling. Past!Draco, realizing this, smiled back. Past!Alex's jabs at his 'friends,' even if it was a little hurtful, had cheered the younger up, "_Why don't we just stay here and watch the stars for the rest of the night? Until we have to go to bed, at least."_

_"Sleep is for wimps."_ said Past!Alex. Past!Draco laughed and Draco couldn't help but smile. It may have been a touchy memory but it was one of the happiest he had ever seen Alex.

"After this, he fell asleep on my shoulder. I didn't move, I wanted him to stay content, and so I fell asleep too. In the morning a blanket was over us and I knew that one of our parents had done it, maybe even the house elves. That was the first step towards learning more about Alex's Obscurus." Draco's smile dropped, "Does this prove that these are his memories now?"

"Yes, we can certainly move on." said Hermione, "Can you try going to his most recent ones?"

"I'll do my best." Draco had concentrated on this memory when he'd dived in and now concentrated on the 20th of December, hoping that was enough of a frame to get started. As they sped ahead, small pieces of memories would play out, showing memories only Alex had or ones he shared with them.

* * *

_"You told me it somehow has his memory in it?"_

_"From what I've figured out, yes. If he can grow in power enough, he won't be just a memory anymore and we will have Lord Voldemort back."_

_"Good luck, then." The man gave him a nod before turning away and disappearing..._

* * *

_"...and so they let me go with you, as long as I stopped playing that 'horrid Muggle music' and running through the halls." Alex was explaining as he and Draco were walking the path to the Shrieking Shack._

_"What were you playing?"_

_"Green Day's _1,000 Hours_. I can sing a bit of it if you want."_

_"No way, you have a horrible singing voice!"_

_"Says you!" And so the brothers playfully sent insults at one another, until the conversation turned to something neither had particularly wanted to talk about: the Buckbeak case._

_"Why did you do it?" Alex asked, confusing Draco by giving no context._

_"What do you mean?"_

_"Complaining to Father about…"_

* * *

_"What happened?" asked Draco, crouching next to him. He went to touch Alex but the look in his brother's eyes stopped him. There was terror and pain in those eyes, so much of it that Draco knew something had happened to set him off. Alex didn't speak for a moment, but when he did, it was little more than a croak._

_"Death Eaters. Crucio, whatever the hell that curse was. It hurt so much." He shivered, "Where's Mum and Dad?"_

_"Somewhere. C'mon, we've got to go." He helped Alex to his feet and they joined the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione in the safety of the forest. They stayed together in the space, waiting for the commotion to cease, and the trio explained to George, Fred, and Ginny what an Obscurus was and in turn the twins confessed what Crucio was, since none of the other kids had heard of it before._

_"It's one of the three Unforgivable Curses." said Fred._

_"They're called 'unforgivable' because…"_

* * *

_"Where all the explosions come from?" Alex raised an eyebrow._

_"As long as you don't touch anything, you'll be fine." Fred assured, though he did give his brother a small questioning look._

_"...Alright." The teen's dark feeling increased as he agreed. But the brothers wouldn't put him in danger, right? There hadn't been a false sense of trust and security, he was sure. He was just as good as sensing that kind of thing as he was at masking his feelings. As it was, he followed Fred and George into the Burrow and up to their room, entering it with a keen wariness and a healthy dose of caution. There were all sorts of lab things and joke boxes around, evidence of their efforts to make magical pranks._

_"We've been making these a while, 'specially thanks to Harry's loan, and we're thinking of starting up the business as soon as we get out of school." said Fred._

_"Just remember not to touch anything." George added. They then ducked under some of the clutter in the room to find something for him. He glanced around, honestly wondering what kind of things they'd made just over the summer alone. Spotting a long box, he bit his lip. They'd told him not to touch anything and his own sense of caution was strong but was quickly being overridden by curiosity. He picked it up and examined it, finding it to be shaped similar to a telescope, and so put it up to his eye. He couldn't see anything at the other end. Briefly he considered putting it down but his curiosity was too strong, and so he pulled it a little, squeezing it in the process. The squeezing activated the mechanism inside, where a tiny punching glove popped out and poked him in the eye. It hurt and surprised him enough to the point that his Obscurus bubbled up, hissing at the threat. He tried to tamp down on it, knowing there was nothing to be afraid of, but the creature had grown since the last time it had appeared, it wanted to get out and was clawing its way to the surface. He held his head, a headache beginning to form from fighting it._

_"Al-?"_

_"Outside. __**NOW**__." The twins realized what was going on and…_

Draco was interrupted by that scene and turned on the twins.

"You nearly made him transform because of your _boxing telescope punching him in the eye_?!"

"Hey, at least it helped us figure out that he could learn to control it!" protested George. This didn't calm Draco and Harry had to hold him back from attacking the twins.

"Let's just keep going! You can kill them later, alright?" Draco growled but backed down.

"_Fine_." he snapped, concentrating again on the memory he thought would help.

* * *

_"What happens to him if you die?"_

_"He goes under the ownership of any surviving Black, including Bellatrix." Alex frowned._

_"That would probably be the end of us all if that happened, huh?"_

_"Definitely, which is why I can't let him leave but I also can't free him." Alex gave a slow nod._

_"So, where's my room?"_

_"Upstairs, first door on the left." Sirius headed into the kitchen, "Want anything to eat?"_

_"Not now, thanks." Alex made his way up the stairs and Sirius watched him leave, but not for long._

_"Wait!"_

_"Yeah?" Alex glanced down at him._

_"Just make sure you don't go into my mother's bedroom, okay?"_

_"Why?"_

_"You know Buckbeak?" Alex frowned._

_"The hippogriff that Hagrid used to train?"_

_"That's right." Sirius nodded, "He didn't die…"_

* * *

It was then that things began to change slightly, to something none of them had ever seen before. Draco knew they weren't far enough yet, but there was something about this memory that was giving him pause.

"Are we there yet?" asked Ron, looking around at the neighborhood.

"Not yet, but there's something… I can't put my finger on it..." Draco frowned, trying to figure out what it was about this memory that was making him pause.

"There's Alex, down the street." Fred pointed, "Do you think this is after he disappeared the first time?"

"Probably, but what's he doing here?"

"Well, this is certainly a part of London." Hermione was checking out the street sign, "We're in the middle of Old Church Street, in Chelsea, London."

"Old Church-?" Draco smacked his forehead, "Of course this is where he would go!"

"Malfoy?"

"He came to see his muggle friend, Tom Harris." Draco went up to 213 and waited beside the gate, knowing exactly where Alex was going despite never having been here before, "When he wasn't in the Wizarding World, he went to school at a place called Brookland and made friends with Tom. Alex always wanted us to meet, but that just wasn't possible." Draco shook his head, "Why did he come here? Was he _trying_ to expose us?"

"Go easy on him, I'm sure he has a reason!" protested Fred.

"Let's just watch." said Harry. Alex continued to the house, going through the gate and up the stairs before knocking on the door. Only a few moments later was it opened by a dark-haired boy they assumed was Tom. Tom stared in astonishment at Alex, having squeaked at the sight of the blond, and Alex grinned back.

_"Miss me?"_

_"Alex!"_ Tom took the other into a hug, "_Oh man, where have you been?!"_

_"Glad to see you too."_ Alex hugged him back, smile dropping, "_Hey, do you mind if I stay with you for a while?"_

_"No, why?"_ Tom frowned, "_Run away from home?"_ Alex shrugged noncommittally.

_"Something like that. Promise you won't out me?"_

_"Sure, but I thought we wouldn't be able to see each other again?"_

_"Look,"_ Alex began pushing Tom back into the house, glancing over his shoulder, "_I'll explain more once we're inside."_ The door shut and then the scene began to change again. They knew there was no point in staying there and tried to move on, but when they came to the memory at the Manor, with Alex under Voldemort's control, Draco knew they couldn't move on, not from this.

_"M-my Lord?"_

_"Lucius, Narcissa, please understand that I don't blame you for trying to keep him a secret. But after I learned that I couldn't find more information on him, I got rid of the Fidelius Charm. Now he can help us." With a wave of his wand, Voldemort summoned a bubble-like orb from another room, holding none other than Alex. Lucius grit his teeth as Narcissa gasped, the Death Eaters around them murmuring to each other. Alex seemed to be unhurt for the most part and was kicking at the shield, trying to make his way out. He locked eyes with his parents and Lucius could see nothing but a frightened, angry, sad look of betrayal. Lucius so badly wanted to tell him that he hadn't been given away but there was nothing the man could do._

_"My Lord," Narcissa spoke up, "are you certain it has to be him?" Lucius gave her a look, not wanting her to anger the Dark Lord or worse._

_"Unless he angers me, no harm will come to your son." Voldemort said. That did little to reassure the Malfoys, "Now, Lucius, I'd like you to prove your worth to me."_

_"My Lord?"_

_"Use _Imperius _on your son." Lucius' eyes widened. He couldn't do that! Yet, as he glanced at his son, he knew he had no choice. Either he would die, Alex would be hurt, or Alex would be controlled by someone else. Possibly all three. Voldemort raised his wand._

_"If you won't do it, perhaps I should give you an incentive."_

_"My Lord-!"_

_"_Crucio_!" Alex screamed as the curse hit him through the bubble. The Malfoys hopped to their feet as Alex switched forms over and over, still screaming the whole time. Death Eaters moved away, frightened by the strange and dangerous creature. Voldemort asked, "Well, Lucius?"_

_"I will, just please-!" He could say no more. Voldemort waved his wand, stopping both Crucio and the bubble surrounding Alex. The blond teen landed on the ground with a _thump_. He moaned for a moment, but tried to get to his feet as he summoned his Obscurus._

_"_Imperius_!" The yellow mist wafted up Alex's nose just in time. The Obscurus stopped just centimeters from several Death Eaters, including the Malfoys themselves. It floated in the air, sluggish under the effects of the spell. As Alex was affected, it affected the parasite as well. Quite a few breathed sighs of relief as Voldemort nodded._

_"Good. And if you can't keep him under control..."_

Draco took a heavy seat in one of the chairs, using his willpower to make the memory not change. He stared at the dreamy look on Alex's face. He had been told what had happened at the Manor a little bit, but he never imagined it had turned out like _this_.

"...I can't believe him." George snarled.

"If he wasn't dead, I'd kill Voldemort myself." Fred agreed.

"But at least it was Mr. Malfoy and not someone else." Hermione pointed out, "Draco?"

"At least." Draco repeated, voice low.

"We should keep moving." said Ron, "We're almost there, right?" Draco nodded.

"Almost there." He didn't get up from his seat as the memory passed and was lucky to still be sitting in a seat when it settled into the memory he wanted. On the table in front of him was a newspaper someone was reading, giving the date, and he knew they were on the 20th of December, in Diagon Alley. They looked out of the window of the shop they were in and found Alex on the other side of the street, inside another shop. It seemed he was getting presents for Christmas. Draco couldn't help but smile as he saw the snake figurehead of his father's wand being put back on it. After the Battle of Hogwarts, Alex had somehow understood that the Elder Wand was not just powerful for dueling, it could also fix things as well, so he'd asked if Harry could try fixing his father's wand. Draco could remember, clear as day, when Alex had gifted the wand back to Lucius. Never had Draco seen his father sob so happily and hug Alex so tightly. When asked how he did it, all Alex gave was a sly grin and said, "A magician never reveals his secrets." Draco had jabbed him in the side for that and wondered at the time how Alex had done it before the blond had explained to him that evening about Harry's involvement. That made the lighter blond realize he'd never thanked Harry for his help in fixing his father's wand. Before Draco could turn his head away, however, Alex exited the store and began moving down the street. The group left the shop and followed Alex down, keeping an eye out for pursuers. It was Diagon Alley, so of course witches and wizards were going every which way, but then Alex went into the Leaky Cauldron and out onto the London streets. Because of his lack of control over any type of magic, Alex had never learned to apparate but knew how to get home well enough. It had always worried his parents and brother about how he'd get home and just be on his own, even with his Obscurus, yet Alex managed. But now, it seemed, their fears were justified.

Suddenly, in the middle of the sidewalk, Alex came to a stop. As the Muggles went around him, going about their business, Alex looked around. He may have been more Muggle-oriented than most pureblood wizards but how was he supposed to know to be discreet at the moment? He'd gotten a feeling of some sort and was searching for the source of it. And when his eyes landed on the source of the feeling, the memory dimmed until the group could barely see anything, just Alex, themselves, and the mysterious person. It was a man, dark brown hair, green eyes, around the same age as Alex, possibly older. They locked eyes for a moment and then the memory went back to normal. Alex turned and got into the first taxi he could find. The mysterious man watched him leave, and then the group was sent out of the memory. Draco stumbled back as he got to grips with being in McGonagall's office again, but now he felt good. They had some sort of lead to Alex, where he could be. There hadn't been any names, but they knew the face of the man they were looking for, not just Alex.

"Well?" asked McGonagall as they all came to their senses.

"I think we've got somebody to find, at least." said Ron.

"Thank you for all your help, Professor." said Hermione as Harry retrieved the memories, putting them back in the vial and handing it to Draco.

"It was no trouble at all. And even though Alex is grown now, if he ever has a chance to be a normal wizard, he's welcome to come to Hogwarts."

"That's… That's a very nice offer. Thank you, Professor." Draco said, blushing. He was astonished that McGonagall would give Alex such a chance but wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth, and the Muggles said, "I'll tell him when we find him."

"I hope you do, Mr. Malfoy." They gave their goodbyes before they began leaving the castle, heading out front to apparate back to Grimmauld Place.

"You know what I just realized?" Harry mused as they descended the stairs.

"What, Potter?"

"That last memory we saw, it was tampered with." He met Draco's eyes, "Either Alex or someone else messed with that memory to make sure we knew we were looking at the right guy. Either this'll get us into trouble or we're one step closer to finding Alex."

"Maybe both." added Ron, "And it's a wonder how we haven't heard anything about an Obscurus yet. You'd think, if he was in trouble, he'd send it out to find us."

"You saw what Voldemort did, though." Fred pointed out.

"He could be held hostage in another bubble and we wouldn't know it." added George, "Managed it for several months, who's to say the guy hasn't been using it for a few weeks?"

"Yeah, but what about the Obscurus?" Ron argued, "If I was holding Alex captive like Voldemort, I'd be trying to use the Obscurus for my own needs, too."

"Unless they can't use it for some reason." Hermione said, "Like if they're Muggles. Alex might purposefully not be using the Obscurus so as not to attract attention."

"Or..." Draco bit his lip, "Maybe he just can't bring it out."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"During the Battle of Hogwarts, when he was with me near the end, after all the defending and transforming he'd done, he couldn't draw it up. The Obscurus just wouldn't come out. It probably would have if he was in grave danger, but because he was so tired it wouldn't come out at his command. Maybe they're purposefully making him tired so he can't use it." This left them all in silence for a moment.

"You've got a point." Harry conceded, "A bad one, but a possible one."

"Anything's possible with Alex." George said.

"Let's just hope we can find him in time." said Fred. Draco couldn't agree more.


	9. Déjà Vu

Mal Foi, Bonne Foi

By: Aubrie1234

* * *

Knowing the Muggles were after Alex, it wouldn't be an easy task just to ask around with a drawing of the face of the man pointed out in Alex's memories. They could track them down and none of the wizards needed that. They did have somewhat of an idea where to look for Alex, however, based on the sightings Draco had described. Most of them had been in a little neighborhood of London called Chelsea and so they decided to check there, separated into groups of two. Draco found himself, annoyingly enough, paired up with Ron. In all honesty, Draco really didn't have a thing against Ron except for his family and his lack of intelligence, and even the whole family thing was lacking now that the war was over, especially with how Fred and George had been Alex's Secret-Keepers. Draco owed the Weasleys a lot more than his he could overshadow with his dislike and so he tried not to be such a prick to Ron.

After going over the prophecy several times, they might have also figured out what some of the beings were that were mentioned in it. The 'Beast' was clearly Alex's Obscurus and 'Death' was, of course, Death. The 'Brotherhood' was likely those close to Alex, but who exactly was uncertain, while the codenames used in the letter that was with the prophecy were somewhat clear. 'Xander' was Alex, 'Padfoot' was Sirius, 'Brian' was likely Dumbledore (who else did they know that was named Brian?), 'Glasses' was Trelawney, and the 'Faiths...' No one was sure who they were with the exception of Draco.

"I think it's us, the Malfoys." he had explained, "'Malfoy' is basically the words 'mal' and 'foi' stitched together. They're both French and together they mean 'bad faith.' It's the only explanation that makes sense." They had to admit that he was right, and now that they had an idea of the prophecy, it made it even more imperative to find Alex.

"Do you really think he'd be out in this mess?" Draco asked as Ron bought a few snacks with some Muggle money Hermione had lent them, just in case they needed it. They had been walking through a small row of shops before they'd ducked into this bakery to warm up for a short time. It was also raining, almost sleeting because of the cold temperatures.

"Never know." Ron said, chomping down on one of his purchases and offering another to Draco. The blond wrinkled his nose at the sight of the muffin.

"No thank you, Weasley." Draco went back to staring out at the street through the front window.

"Suit yourself." Ron would've shrugged but he knew how hard Draco was taking all this and so tried not to make things worse. He put the bag of muffins in his coat pocket for later, glad that they fit, and brought out his umbrella so that they could go out again. As he struggled to open it, his head shot up when he saw Draco suddenly rush out the door, "Hey wait!" Still struggling with the umbrella, he ran after Malfoy. He was able to keep the Slytherin in sight through the rain but he had no idea what Draco was doing. Had he suddenly gone mad? "Malfoy!" Draco kept running. Ron finally managed to get the umbrella open and held it over his head as he continued to chase the blond. Much to Ron's relief, Draco finally came to a stop, though Ron almost bumped into him.

"Cor, Malfoy, don't _do_ that!" Ron panted, leaning on his knees while the umbrella rested in the crook of his neck, keeping him dry. When Draco didn't respond, the redhead lifted his head to study the other man. Draco was completely drenched but it didn't seem to bother him. They had somehow run to this small clearing after ducking out of the main streets, a square of sorts, and Draco was staring around. He looked somewhat spooked, to be honest, "...Draco?"

"I saw him." Draco murmured, astonished, "I'm sure I saw Alex. He just- just disappeared."

"Easy." Ron led him to a nearby bench, sitting down and raising the umbrella to cover them both. While Ron was sitting up, Draco was hunched over, staring at his clasped hands. He looked like someone about to go to the gallows, "Why would Alex be here?"

"I don't know, but I'm certain it was him. He was getting groceries, I think, walking along the street." Draco glanced at Ron, "Sorry for taking off so suddenly, I had to be sure."

"It's okay." Ron nodded, then looked around, "And you lost him here?"

"Yep." Draco rubbed his face, "We were so close..."

"Don't blame yourself." Ron pat his shoulder, "We need to go back and tell the others, see if we can come up with a plan." The redhead gazed at him, "And I don't mean to keep questioning you, but you're _sure_ it was Alex?" Draco nodded.

"Positive."

"Alright." Ron dragged Draco to his feet and they left the area. The blond couldn't help but glanced back and raked the area with his eyes, just trying to catch a glimpse of Alex again.

* * *

As the went down the street back to Grimmauld Place, Ron couldn't help but look back over his shoulder, nervous. For some reason, he got the feeling he was being watched. After going through everything he did, you didn't get far without being cautious. And though he didn't see anything, he trusted his instincts. Tugging Draco's arm, he led them off-course, turning down one street before the hidden building.

"Weasley-"

"Trust me, Malfoy." Ron hissed. Draco didn't argue again. He followed the redhead as they cut over to another street. Draco looked behind him but saw no one. However, he trusted Ron's instincts and continued to follow. At points Ron took Draco's hand to speed him up until they found themselves walking through Piccadilly Circus. When they were in the mouth of an alleyway they stopped and Ron glanced around, then waved his wand.

"_Deprehensio_." The tip of the wand glowed for a moment, as if trying to perform _Lumos_, then the small light turned red. Ron gave a sigh of relief.

"No one's following us anymore." He pocketed the wand and they began heading back.

"What was that?" Draco asked, "I've never heard of that spell before and to hear _you_ use it-"

"I know I'm a bit of an idiot, but this is a spell some of the Aurors taught me. It's the Detection Spell, tells you if you're being followed or not. Not really sure how it works but it's really useful. Wish we'd had it when getting chased by Voldemort."

"Well, thanks. You really got us out of that mess, even though..."

"I just had a feeling. Wouldn't have survived this long if I didn't trust my instincts." Draco nodded. Soon enough they returned to Grimmauld Place, but no one was home, not even Kreacher or Sirius. Draco raised an eyebrow at the circumstances but Ron shrugged, "If I was cooped up in this place all the time waiting to be not convicted anymore I'd want to get out too." The blond said nothing, taking a seat at the table. After putting away the umbrella, Ron sat with him. There was silence for a moment.

"I know what you're gonna say, but I know what I saw." Draco murmured as the redhead gave him a surprised look, "I didn't imagine seeing Alex."

"Are you sure? I don't mean to doubt you but we have to be sure."

"Says the one who was sure he saw Nagini five times in one month because of a snake that got loose in Hogwarts." Ron rolled his eyes as Draco smirked.

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up, Malfoy, and we'll see what happens when I bring up the whole 'Amazing Bouncing Ferret' thing."

"You wouldn't _dare_-" Draco glared holes into Ron while the redhead stole his smirk.

"Try me." Ron then got up and rummaged around for a bit before coming back with some paper and a pencil, "Here, describe what you saw as much as you can remember, maybe draw a little. We need to make sure we remember it as clearly as we can and the longer we wait, the less clear it gets."

"...Maybe you're smarter than you look, Weasley. You sound like a real detective." Draco took the pencil and began writing down things. Ron watched him for a moment before pulling out the muffins he'd bought. He paused when he saw something attached to the paper. It was a sticky note that read,

'_Stay away or else.'_

"Draco, you see this?" The blond glanced up and saw the sticky note. Draco frowned.

"They know we're getting close to Alex, somehow." Draco went back to writing and doing a little drawing. Ron put the note on the table and went back to munching on muffins. Ron watched as Draco drew, and though it was squiggly, it was recognizable. It was at that moment that the front door opened. Ron reached for his wand and put it back when he saw it was only Sirius carrying in groceries. The Marauder raised an eyebrow as he put away the groceries.

"Sorry. Out of habit." Ron gave a sheepish grin.

"Surprised to see you two back so early."

"We saw Alex." Draco didn't look up as he finished.

"Alex? Where was he?" Sirius took a seat across from them.

"Near Soho. We went into this muffin shop to get out of the rain and Malfoy spotted him and ran off!" Ron recounted. Sirius glanced at the paper as Draco pushed it over.

"Wrote and drew all I saw." Underneath the writing was a figure in a crowd; it was raining, but even Sirius was sure it was Alex.

"And you didn't mistake him?" Draco growled.

"Of course it isn't somebody else! I saw him with my own eyes!"

"Draco-" Both of them got up from the table.

"Leave me _alone_, Black." Even though he didn't stomp away, Draco was certainly angry. After he left, Sirius sat down with Ron again.

"There was this, too." Ron showed him the note, "Someone musta slipped it into my pocket because it wasn't on the bag when I got it."

"Why were the two of you near Soho, anyway? I thought you were looking in Chelsea."

"We did but then I had us stop for a snack at this one place and they told me to go over to Patisserie Francaise for the best muffins." Ron bit into another one, "Bloody hell, they weren't wrong!" Sirius shook his head.

"Of course you'd think of food at a time like this." They turned to the front door when it opened again and Harry and Hermione came in.

"I hate cold rain." Hermione shivered as Harry put up the umbrella, "It started pouring out of nowhere! I hope I don't catch a cold!"

"Out of everyone here, you're the least likely to catch one, 'Mione." said Harry. Once the two joined Sirius and Ron in the kitchen, Ron once again explained what had happened. Like Sirius and Ron had been, Harry and Hermione were doubtful Draco had seen Alex.

"He misses his brother terribly. He could've just put Alex's face there and thought the stranger was Alex, since he didn't get a good look." Hermione reasoned.

"It's possible, but he's really convinced it's Alex." Sirius said, "Unless one of you wanna talk with him, this is what we have to work with."

"I'll try it." said Harry, "He seems to trust me a little more than everyone else." As Harry went to the stairs, the door opened again and in came the twins.

"Pouring cats and dogs out there!" exclaimed George.

"Umbrella couldn't keep us dry eve though it tried!" added Fred.

"Hey, maybe we could make something like that, where if you open the umbrella-"

"-tiny cats and dogs rain down! Brilliant!"

"But what should we call it?" The twins mused over their new idea for a moment before Harry interrupted them.

"Why don't you guys think about that later and get to the kitchen? Draco and Ron might've seen Alex." Instantly this got the twins' attention and they rushed down the hall to hear the news. Harry continued on his way up the stairs and went to Draco's room. He tried the knob and found it unlocked. Slowly, he eased open the door, knowing it was impossible to keep the old hinges quiet without a Silencing Charm. Draco was sitting on the bed, facing away from the door with his legs crossed. Something was in his hands. Harry took note of the clothes he'd allowed Draco to borrow, still untouched, and mentally made a reminder to tell Kreacher to wash Draco's clothes later.

"Draco?" The blond didn't respond, "It's me, Harry."

"I know who you are, Potter. Leave me alone."

"Draco-"

"Potter, if you've come here to tell me I couldn't have seen him, then go away. I know what I saw, but why won't any of you believe me?" Harry hesitated, then ventured closer. He could now see over Draco's shoulder and found him to be holding a frame with a moving photograph. It was of Draco and Alex years before, when they had been together before Voldemort forced them apart. They had an arm around each other's shoulders and were smiling, sometimes pushing the other out of the picture but they'd always get back together. The background was not of Malfoy Manor but somewhere else, a place with snow and forest. Harry said nothing of it and sat beside the Slytherin. Draco didn't even look up.

"I know you don't wanna hear this, but we think, because you miss him so much, you might've put Alex's face on the stranger's and thought you saw him."

"I know what I saw and it was Alex. I saw his face and it wasn't in my head."

"Even if it was, you've given us a little more to go on. We saw Alex and we think he's alive. Isn't that good enough?"

"He's alive. If he was dead, I'd know." Draco lowered his voice, solemn, "You see this, Potter? This was the last picture that was ever taken of my brother and we haven't had the time to take another since. I can't explain it, but after I made the promise to protect Alex, I've always had this feeling in the back of my head that would always tell me if something happened to him. I knew he was badly hurt that night when you went to the Ministry. I shook me up but I tried not to dwell on it, not until he came and told me what happened. And when he was alone, on the run, then under Voldemort's control, I could always feel that he was in trouble but I could never do anything about it. And now it's just like that, only worse." Draco took the picture to his chest, "It's like there's a hole now. I don't feel anything and it's tearing me apart. I have no idea if Alex is fine or in danger because I don't have that feeling anymore, that instinct to find him and protect him. Whatever happened to him, the feeling that connected us just died and I want to know why." Draco looked up at Harry for the first time since the dark-haired man entered the room, "I don't think you'd understand because you don't have brothers or sisters, but it feels like what you'd call a big brother instinct. I had to protect him and somehow I failed. I am not going to rest until I get my revenge on whoever took him away from me."

"Don't go head-on into this, Malfoy." Harry reached over and put a hand on Draco's shoulder, "I know what it's like to wanna get revenge, but don't let it consume you. We wanna find Alex too, he means a lot to all of us." Harry pat the blond's shoulder before standing up, "Join us later when you're feeling better and we'll all share what we've learned." He left the room. Draco didn't watch him leave.

* * *

_**Notes:**_

**Deprehensio = Latin for 'detection'**

**Patisserie Francaise is an actually place in Soho, London. Not sure if they sell muffins, though**

**'Cor' is an exclamation of surprise in British slang**

_**Why do I write past blocks when it gets later at night? Anyway, I had no idea how to write this chapter for a while and suddenly I write it in about two days. I hope it meets your expectations and that I'll be able to write more after this.**_

_**Please read & review and have a happy (belated) New Year!**_


	10. Can't Slow Down

Mal Foi, Bonne Foi

By: Aubrie1234

* * *

When Draco finally felt human enough to return and wouldn't break down in an angry mess, he returned to the kitchen to find the twins arguing over something with Hermione. Harry and Ron were watching uncomfortably and Sirius was nowhere to be seen. Why did Draco have to deal with these idiots again?

"-but it's possible, isn't it?" protested Fred.

"No, it's not." said Hermione.

"Just give it a chance!" said George.

"What's going on?" Draco asked, glancing between them. The twins started, as if caught doing something wrong, while Hermione gave the blond a cool look.

"Nothing." She shook her head. Draco frowned but didn't push.

"Potter, you mentioned talking about what we'd found out?"

"Right." Harry nodded, "Hermione and I found a phonebook to help us figure out if Alex might've changed his name for some reason." Draco and the Weasleys gave the duo blank stares.

"No offense to you guys, but what's a phonebook?" asked Ron. Hermione rolled her eyes with a sigh.

"It gives you all the phone numbers of people in an area and sometimes their addresses." she explained, "So we can check out all the Alexes that live in Chelsea in case Alex might've moved here. It's possible the phonebook is too old to have his name or that he doesn't live here but it's a shot in the dark." She turned to the twins, "Did you find anything?" They shook their heads.

"Nope." said George. They looked forlorn that, out of the three groups, they hadn't found anything. Draco tapped his fingers on the table, thinking.

"With as little as we have, I have an idea of what we could do next." said the blond, "Do you remember Tom, from Alex's memories? We should visit him and find out if he knows anything."

"Good idea, but not all at once." Harry said, "We don't need to attract attention. Hermione?"

"I'll go." She nodded, "Should we go now or-?"

"No way." Fred shook his head, "Too cold and too wet."

"Let's warm up and do it tomorrow." George said, "As much as I hate to put a pause in finding Alex, we wouldn't be any good if we all caught colds." Draco said nothing. He knew they were right but that didn't make him feel better. As they talked amongst themselves about other things, Malfoy got up and headed upstairs. Out of all of them, he was the most wet and decided to get a warm bath so he wouldn't get sick. After going to his room he looked around for towels and such that he could use to dry off and his bath, but could find none.

"Kreacher?"

"Hello, Mr. Malfoy." The house elf appeared in the room with a small _crack_. Draco gathered the clothes Harry offered him, wrinkling his nose but knowing he had no choice.

"Are there clean towels I could use for my bath?"

"Of course. I will bring them to you." Kreacher gave him a look before snapping his fingers and disappearing. Draco headed to the bathroom and, though he was nervous about the weight of the bathtub in such an old house, he began undressing in the privacy. It was only once he was sitting in the warm water that Kreacher returned with the towels. Draco glanced at the elf as Kreacher gathered up the dirty clothes he'd been wearing minutes before.

"Kreacher?"

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy?"

"When Alex was here a few years ago, did anything happen?" Kreacher's ears twitched.

"Master Alex asked me not to say anything." He still had a sly smile on his face. Draco frowned again.

"I see. You're dismissed." The blond thought about Kreacher's words as he relaxed in the warm water. He knew that Sirius had told Kreacher to respect Alex as a master during his time here and it seemed Sirius hadn't lifted that rule, but what had happened between the elf and his brother that Alex had asked Kreacher not to say? Sirius would be able to get Kreacher to tell the truth but it bothered Draco. It could be a lead to Alex, perhaps, but more likely not and he was getting his hopes up. He was always getting his hopes up for his darker blond brother.

_I know you're alive._ he thought, closing his eyes, _Just where are you?_

* * *

Hermione took the lead when they left the next day while everyone else went to keep looking around Chelsea and Soho, where Draco had seen his brother. While Draco barely knew how to navigate London, Hermione was an expert and took them to 213 Old Church Street without stressing out about where they were. When they arrived, Draco was unsure about taking the lead but decided to go first, anyway. He knocked on the door and soon came face-to-face with the dark-haired teen that had been in Alex's memory.

"Hello? Can I help you?"

"Yes. I'm Draco Malfoy. I believe you know my brother, Alex?" His eyes lit up.

"Of course I know Al! It's nice to finally meet you, Draco. I'm Tom!" He held out a hand. Draco hesitated, then shook it. Tom looked past him, "And it's nice to meet you too, Ms…?"

"Hermione. Hermione Granger." She shook hands with him too before Tom let them inside. He was home alone and they took seats in the living room. He closed the curtains and suddenly was solemn when he turned to face them.

"Alex told me all about magic and he hasn't talked to me in weeks, not since he left the last time. What's going on?" At first Draco felt enraged and betrayed that Alex exposed their secret to a Muggle, but with the care Tom was taking not to expose them, Draco saw that he might be alright.

"We wanted to know why he was here." Draco asked. Tom nodded and took a seat.

"He really didn't tell me the truth until he left, but he said he was staying over here because he'd run away from his family. Since he had nowhere to go, My mom and I let him stay." The Muggle shook his head, "He never really said anything until the end, just stayed quiet and helped around the house. He didn't come with me to school so I wondered what was going on. He even gave me a fake address when I asked him where he lived."

"Fake address?" Hermione sat forward, "Could you write it down for us?"

"Sure." Tom went to the kitchen and soon came back with a small strip of paper, which he handed to Draco, "You think he could be there?"

"Maybe." said Hermione, "We've gotta follow any leads we can find." Draco studied the address in his hands.

'_54 Ovington Street'_ Draco wondered why Alex would make that his fake address. Maybe he wanted to live there someday? Maybe it was a better place than the Manor? Whatever it might be, at least it gave them a lead.

"Thank you, Tom."

"Don't thank me, just find Alex." Draco nodded. He and Hermione bid their goodbyes before leaving the home. Hermione turned to Draco.

"You did well in there."

"Thank you."

"It seems like Alex made a good friend."

"He did. Maybe one day Tom can come over to the Manor." Hermione raised an eyebrow, "I said one day, Granger. That doesn't mean it'll happen."

"If you say so."

* * *

Once they had the address, Fred offered to scout the place. They weren't going to go in all at once without a plan. At least some form of strategy was finally getting through their thick heads. Draco nervously waited for Fred to return, as did everyone else. They were likely wrong, but they had to know.

"Are _all_ of you just gonna sit around until Fred comes back?" Draco glanced at Sirius.

"'S not like we can do much else." Ron said. Unlike the others, he and Harry were making most of their time by playing a game of Muggle Chess, which neither had attempted before. But Like in Wizard's Chess, Ron had a large lead over his best friend. George was refining the ideas for new joke items he and Fred had come up with over the past few days while Hermione was catching up with a book. _Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There_ was the title. It sounded familiar to Draco, somehow. As for himself, he was just slumped in his seat, fingers tapping the table. It was a habit he'd picked up recently to convey his worry, ever since the war had ended. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Well, I'm gonna go see Buckbeak." Draco raised his head.

"Could I come with you?" Everyone stared at him. Sirius narrowed his eyes.

"Promise not to insult him again? Because I'm not protecting you if he decides to attack a second time." Draco winced.

"I know, and I promise I won't." Draco got to his feet and followed Sirius to Buckbeak's room. Sirius went in first and bowed. When Buckbeak allowed him in, Draco followed suit. Buckbeak sniffed him before giving a small angry caw and getting to his feet. It was clear he recognized Draco's scent. This was bad.

"Back up!" Sirius hissed. Draco didn't raise out of his bow but did back away. He was forced to stop when he hit the wall, though. Buckbeak sniffed him again and then, much to their surprise, the hippogriff bowed back. Draco slowly raised out of his bow, somewhat astonished as Sirius grabbed some weasels for Buckbeak.

"He looked so mad." said the Marauder, "Wonder what made him change his mind." Draco didn't know. He approached but not too quickly, not wanting to set the hippogriff off again, and laid his hand on Buckbeak's side. He sat down beside the large creature and stroked the hippogriff's feathers. Buckbeak gave a small purr as Sirius raised an eyebrow, "The last time he let anyone near him like that was with Alex." He threw the weasel at Buckbeak, who snapped it up and swallowed it.

"I can understand that." Draco murmured, "Did you ever see his stuffed animal? He had this little stuffed hippogriff he named Jack and he always loved the toy, not to mention hippogriffs themselves." He took on a saddened look, "After what I did, getting my father to make a trial against Buckbeak, Alex was disappointed with me. He was angry at first, but mostly disappointed. After that, I tried to change, to get Father to stop the trial, but there was nothing I could do." Draco lifted his head and met one of Buckbeak's eyes, "I always wanted to say that I'm sorry." Sirius was quiet.

"..When did you learn Buckbeak was still alive?"

"From Alex, after the war. I didn't come in here sooner because I was scared of doing this alone, afraid I would get hurt again even though I was trying to make amends." Draco reached up, slowly, carefully, and rubbed the hippogriff's beak, "Thank you for giving me another chance." Not sure if the blond was talking to him or the hippogriff, Sirius let it go. Buckbeak nuzzled Draco gently and Sirius wondered if the creature could not only sense Draco's wish to be forgiven but also his connection to Alex. Sirius wondered why Buckbeak gave the blond another chance. It wasn't really something to dwell on but it made him wonder. He looked up when he heard a small knock at the door. It was George. Sirius raised an eyebrow but George didn't come in. Glancing at Buckbeak, Sirius made his way over.

"What is it?"

"I was wondering if I could talk to Draco alone. No offense to you, but there's something I wanna ask him in private." Sirius nodded.

"Just be careful." Giving a goodbye bow to Buckbeak, the Marauder left the room. George entered and gave a welcoming bow to Buckbeak. When the hippogriff bowed back, George took Sirius place in feeding Buckbeak. Draco hadn't reacted the whole time but George knew that Draco knew he was there.

"Well?" George finally asked.

"Well what?"

"Aren't you wondering why I wanted us to be alone?"

"No. You're gonna talk to me about Alex."

"Not gonna say you're wrong, but don't always assume what I have to say is gonna be about Alex or jokes."

"Then what _do_ you want?" Draco looked at the redhead for the first time as George fed the hippogriff.

"Have you ever thought about what Alex would've been like if things had been different? Like, what if he wasn't a Muggle? What if he didn't have an Obscurus? What would've changed?"

"Why are you asking this?" George shrugged.

"Curious."

"Well… He probably would've been as bad as me, maybe. Neither of us would have been good people, and even now it's a stretch for me."

"Fred, Sirius, even Moody wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for him." Draco frowned.

"How can you be so sure about that?"

"Because of his Obscurus. He blocked the shot at Sirius, he protected Moody at the Battle of the Seven Potters, and he saved all of us when he protected us from an explosion." George turned to Draco, "I know all this because of a feeling I have, mostly around Fred. If Alex hadn't saved us, Fred would've been dead."

"Guess it's not just me, then." Draco went back to petting Buckbeak. George frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"As I explained this to Potter, I had this feeling inside me that linked me to Alex, sort of like a brotherly instinct, I guess. It appeared when I promised to protect him and it vanished when he disappeared. Like, whenever something happens to him, like he gets hurt-"

"-you can feel it." George finished. Draco nodded, "Yeah, I have the same thing with Fred and my other siblings. It's a really strong sense, isn't it? Makes you feel awful when they get hurt and there's nothing you can do, even though you have no idea what happened."

"I know, you don't have to tell me." Draco clenched his hand, careful not to grab any feathers and accidentally pluck them.

"Well, don't think you're alone in caring for Alex." Draco looked up when George sat beside him, "Fred and I, we really care for him too."

"And how does that work?" George shrugged.

"Don't know. I guess, when he started spending time with us after he had to leave home, we just kinda bonded? Besides you, Fred and I care the most about him of everyone here. He's like a little brother to us. I know we don't always get along, Draco, but we both care about the same person, so if you ever need to talk, Fred and I are always available." The blond stared at him, somewhat unconvinced, but gave a slow nod. Before he could voice an answer, the door was opened by Harry.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Fred's back and he's got news on Alex." Harry left. Draco and George shared a look before giving their goodbyes to Buckbeak and leaving the room in a flash. When they got down there, everyone was waiting.

"Is he there?" Draco demanded.

"He's there, alright. He _lives_ there now!"

"_What?_" How? Did Alex suddenly detach from his previous life and make an entirely new one? "How is he even living there?"

"I don't know. Think he's sharing the rent with someone, though."

"Then let's head over and get him back!" said Ron.

"Hold it!" Hermione interrupted, "It's too late to go out and see him. We need to wait until tomorrow. He won't be happy if we come knocking at suppertime." They all glanced to a clock on the wall. She was right.

"First thing in the morning, then." George said, "The more we wait, the greater chance we lose him somehow." And with that they disbanded, muttering about Alex. When they were finally going to bed, Draco couldn't get to sleep. His head was running through all sorts of scenarios with Alex and just wondering what was going on, why Alex was there and not home. He'd forgotten to ask Fred how Alex looked, if Alex seemed to enjoy living there, then supposed he'd learn the truth soon enough. At least they'd finally found Alex again.

_Only a matter of time, right? Then why do I have a bad feeling about all this?_

* * *

**_Wow. I wrote all this in one day and got it posted in the same day. Very unusual for me. Anyway, next chapter is where we finally meet Alex again. It's not gonna be pretty, I'll tell you that._**

**_Now, please read & review!_**


	11. I Know I'm Supposed to Love You

Mal Foi, Bonne Foi

By: Aubrie1234

* * *

Like George had promised, they were over to the street first thing in the morning (but not so early as not to have breakfast). Number 54 was part of a whole street of buildings identical to Grimmauld Place, sandwiched between one another with barely any room for a yard. It was 9:31 when Draco moved up the steps to knock on the door. He was going first because, out of all of them, he was the one Alex would recognize on-sight immediately. He knocked as his friends waited on the sidewalk. The day was warm and bright, unlike the almost-sleeting conditions of a few days previous, so it was turning out to be a good day so far. Suddenly the door opened and Draco lost his breath as he saw his little brother standing in front of him, fine as ever, though his eyes looked off. Alex raised an eyebrow. Not the reaction he was expecting…

"Yes? Can I help you?"

"Uh, Alex, don't you recognize me?" Draco frowned worriedly as Alex glanced up and down.

"No. Who are you?" It felt like the ground was taken out from under him. If it was possible, he paled more than his already pale skin could handle.

"N-nevermind. Wrong house." Draco turned to leave but was stopped when Fred took the lead.

"Look, I know you might not know us, but we know you." he said. Alex narrowed his eyes. It shot shivers down Draco's spine and scared him more than the Obscurus ever did. Something was _wrong_. Alex blinked and then a smile crossed his face.

"Oh, right! I know you guys now! Took a minute there. Wanna come inside?" Draco grasped Fred's arm in a deathgrip. He didn't need to say anything, conveying with his eyes that this was a _bad_ idea. Something was setting him off and, though he didn't know what it was, he knew he couldn't deal with it. Fred gave him an understanding but persistent look and ventured inside. With his grip on the redhead's arm, he was forced to follow, as did the rest of their group. After Alex closed the door, he set the bolt. This worsened Draco's nerves.

"Wait here, I'll be right back. I didn't expect company." Alex smiled before going upstairs.

"That was...disturbing." Hermione said. Even she had felt the strange chill in the air that had come from Alex's smile.

"We need to _leave_." Draco hissed, "Something's wrong and if we don't get out we're _dead_. I can't explain it but I just _know_."

"You're right, but we can't just leave without figuring out why Alex is here." Harry pointed out. Draco smacked his forehead. _Gryffindors…_ Alex came back from upstairs, still smiling. Draco couldn't really explain but somehow he felt worse now. Their doom was upon them. How did no one else feel it? Maybe it was because of his close connection to Alex. But it had been dead for weeks, why was it acting up now?

"You guys like the decor?" he asked. Everybody looked away from him and, though Draco glanced away for a second he didn't take his eyes off Alex for long. His brother was planning something and it didn't set well with him.

"Who's this?" Harry pointed to one of the pictures. Draco glanced at it and frowned. It was a very recent picture of Alex with the mysterious stranger from the memories, the two of them eating ice cream in the cold near the London Eye. They looked happy together, even though Alex didn't really express it.

"My flatmate." said Alex, "Come into the living room." Ron went in first like the oblivious idiot he was while Draco went in last. He didn't dare put his back to Alex. Alex sat with them on a chair, letting them take the couch and other various chairs.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this early visit?" He was still smiling. Draco's hand trailed down to his wand.

"Like I said, we know you, but you don't know us." Fred said, "You might have amnesia or something, but we really do know you. You were part of our group and you had a family who still misses you." Alex raised an eyebrow.

"Right. So, your names?"

"I'm Goyle..." Draco glanced at Ron in surprise. He wasn't using their real names, nor did he refer to Draco as Alex's brother. Ron was still surprising him somehow. When Ron finished, Alex nodded.

"And so you want me to just come home with you, right?" Alex drawled. Draco was about to draw his wand but it was too late. There was a shout and wands were being pointed at the younger brother as he held a gun in his hands. George stared at his hand in shock, then at Alex. The blond was still holding the gun while he now had a bloody hole through the side of his hand. The pain was terrible, but not as bad as the hurt he felt that Alex still attacked him, even though the blond clearly had no idea who they were.

"Don't lie to me." Alex snapped, eyes hard as flint, "I don't know why you came in armed with only sticks but you're not doing anything." The gun was leveled at George's head, "Drop the sticks." Ron looked ready to speak a spell but Hermione made him lower his hand. Even though they could disable Alex, it wouldn't be enough to save George. Alex tilted his head, "Even though I don't know any of you, you do look familiar." Draco didn't look away. He was the only one who hadn't drawn his wand. If someone could distract Alex…

"You can't hurt all of us." said Harry.

"No, but I can kill one of you. I can tell you're not the type to let people die, so, what's it gonna be?" Alex's eyes didn't settle on anyone, flicking across all of them to keep them in sight. The pain was also starting to really set in for George, Draco could see it in his face, the way the blood dripped between his fingers as he held the wound with his other hand. But then Fred had taken out the Rubik's Cube and threw it at Alex, drawing his attention away.

"_Incarcerous!_" The ropes wrapping around Alex's body caused him to drop the gun, tying him to the chair. He didn't look very surprised. In fact, he grinned.

"That the best you can do?" Draco grit his teeth.

"_Stupefy!_" Alex's head was snapped back as he was knocked unconscious. Draco's grip on his wand was tight, hand shaking as he lowered it.

"_Vulnera Sanentur._" Hermione was already getting to trying to heal George's hand, though the spell only managed to stop the bleeding. She winced and summoned bandages to wrap around his hand, "We'll need some stronger stuff to heal this." Fred stepped up beside Draco, looking down at Alex as he scooped up the Rubik's Cube.

"...You were right." he murmured, "I thought we could get through to him, but I guess not." He shook his head.

"Don't blame yourself." said Draco, "He's not himself. And careful with that, Weasley." Draco spoke to Ron, who was picking up the gun by pinching its handle.

"Don't you think I know that? Just wondering who might've given this to him. It's a muggle weapon, ain't it?"

"Yeah. It's a gun, and it can cause a lot of death if used the wrong way." Hermione said, "Just put it down." Ron did so. Hermione was very serious, which was different from her regular serious.

"What do you think happened to him, to turn him into this?" asked Harry.

"This isn't Alex." Draco gestured to the tied-up blond, "This isn't my hippogriff-loving, sarcastic, funny little brother. This..." He swallowed, as if not wanting to say the words, "This is a stranger."

"I know that, but as much as he is a stranger, he's still your brother. Someone turned him into a stranger."

"Then anyone got any ideas of what to do next?" asked Ron, "I mean, we can't leave him like this and I don't think we should leave him with his memories."

"I've got one." Harry turned to Hermione, "Can you take memories while he's unconscious?"

"Yes, but it'll be tricky, so I'll need some time to do it."

"Good." Harry nodded, "We'll make sure no one disturbs you. When you're done, _Obliviate _his memory of this and we'll put him in bed." Hermione nodded and stepped forward. Harry moved to the front windows as a lookout.

"Hold it." Draco said, moving between her and Alex, "Is this safe?"

"Yes." Hermione nodded. Draco stared her hard in the eyes for a few moments then stepped back. She strode over and placed her wand on Alex's temple before whispering spells, causing a white glow to appear.

"I need a container of some sort to store the memories."

"Right." Ron moved to the kitchen to grab something. Fred sat beside George, who had been silent since his hand was shot.

"You okay?" he whispered. George shook his head, staring down at the red stain under the bandages. Fred hugged his twin gently, "At least say something."

"My hand hurts, but not as badly as Alex having no memory of us."

"Like Draco said, he's not himself. Don't think about it, don't think of it as him." Fred took George's undamaged hand and they stood up together. Ron had come back by this time and held out a cup for Hermione. Once Alex's memories were taken she wiped what he had of the past hour, instructing Ron to also grab something to cover the cup so the memories wouldn't accidentally be lost. Ron had no idea what he could use and so Harry needed to go with him and Draco switched with the glasses-wearing man, keeping an eye out. He hadn't put his wand away since knocking Alex out and he was engulfed by a flurry of emotions, grip still tight. His wand gave off a few green sparks as if understanding his constant distress over the past month and the upped amount of it from the last few minutes. Draco took a deep breath and eased his grip. He didn't need to damage his wand. The green sparks stopped and he felt only marginally better.

"Done." Hermione stepped back from Alex. She cut the ropes and helped Fred carry Alex upstairs. Upon their return she placed the gun back on the table but only after rubbing the handle with her shirt, careful not to touch it with her hands. George raised an eyebrow.

"Fingerprints." she said, "Muggles know how to find fingerprints and use them against us. No need to leave any behind." George nodded. Ron and Harry soon returned with the cup covered in plastic wrapping and they all left, hightailing it back to Grimmauld Place. Hermione wasted no time going up to her room and dragging George with her to deal with his wound, Harry also heading up to his room to perhaps send a letter to McGonagall about using the Pensieve again as the rest headed into the kitchen. The second he saw the looks on their faces Sirius frowned.

"Let me guess, did it end in a disaster?"

"Almost ended up with George dying but sure, let's go with that." said Draco, "Alex has no idea who we were, he shot George's hand, and we just had to erase his memories of the last hour. How do you think we should feel?"

"Ouch." Sirius shook his head, "Sit down and tell me everything." And so they did. Fred detailed most of the visit with input from Ron and Draco at times and the blond could tell that, as hard as it was hitting himself, it really was hitting the twins hard too.

"_Fred and I, we really care for him too."_ George had said. Draco really hadn't believed it much at first but now he was inclined to, so maybe he owed the Weasleys more than he realized. After all, when Alex had to leave Malfoy Manor, he himself had suggested the Weasleys take in his brother. They had raised Alex in his absence, so it made sense connections had to have been made. Draco rubbed his forehead. He would have to have a long talk with Fred and George later.

"Definitely sounds like someone tampered with his memories." Sirius said, "How's George?"

"Hermione's trying to heal his hand." said Ron, "He looked pretty shaken up."

"We all did." Draco said. No one could deny that. Draco had known it was going to end badly but he hadn't known _how_ badly and now he wished he'd convinced them to leave before they had a chance to go inside Alex's new 'home.' Seeing eyes that truly didn't know who they were stung harder than any fist.

"Then I'm guessing Harry's gonna try to ask McGonagall about the Pensieve again?" They all nodded to Sirius' question. The older man hummed, "If I were you, I'd be careful. Whoever tampered with Alex's memories erased about eighteen years worth and that's not easy to do, especially if they replaced it with another lifetime, even if Alex's new memories are fake. For all we know, this could leave Alex as very unstable."

"And if we fix it?" asked Draco, fingers tapping the wood of the table anxiously. The words 'unstable' and 'Alex' in the same sentence weren't doing wonders for his conscience, let alone his nerves.

"I don't think that'll fix the instability. He'll know who he really is again, sure, but changing so much isn't gonna do Alex any wonders. He might even get worse if we try to fix it."

"Worse than trying to kill us and acting like a stone-cold Dementor?" Fred asked. Sirius shrugged.

"I've seen my share of crazy, you know that. All I'm saying is to be very careful with Alex right now. He might not have attacked you with his Obscurus but that doesn't mean he won't be able to kill next time, just like today."

"Why _didn't_ he use it, anyway? I mean, even if he doesn't have his memories it should still be there and he should still feel it, right?" asked Ron.

"You can't get rid of an Obscurus unless you kill the host." said Draco, "So maybe someone was able to keep it suppressed. Which should honestly be impossible but you never know with Alex, do you?" Draco rubbed his face again. Fred patted his shoulder, as if trying to comfort him. It had little effectiveness.

"People are trying to invent new spells every day." Sirius said, "You could be right."

"And I really hope I'm not." Hermione and George then walked in. The bandages were now off and all that could be seen on his hand was a small scar going up the side of it, where it had been cut by the bullet.

"Just be glad it didn't go _through_ your hand instead of just hitting the side." she said, "I'm not sure if I'd have been able to fix that."

"Thanks, 'Mione." George sat beside Fred, taking the space in between him and Draco. Both of his brothers glanced over him, double-checking that nothing else was wrong, and then they all focused back on Sirius again.

"So we know Alex is living with the same guy from his memories and someone tampered with his personal ones." Hermione summarized, "We know where he lives just in case we ever need to get to him and maybe his new memories can give us more information on what's happening. It's the best lead we've had since this whole thing started."

"All we have to do is wait until we can get to the Pensieve." said Fred.

"I hope it doesn't take too long. I wanna know who did that to Al." George growled. It seems he had finally gotten over his shock and was going straight into anger.

"Then it looks like you just got your wish." Harry walked in holding the Pensieve, "I knew all of us wanted answers right away and so I apparated over, asking McGonagall if we could borrow it for a few minutes. She said, and I quote, 'Keep it, Mr. Potter. I have the feeling you might need it for a little longer during this adventure.'"

"Smart woman." said Sirius. Harry put the Pensieve on the table, everyone standing up. Draco, of course, wanted to go first and so voiced it. He was allowed but was quickly met with some caution as Harry poured in the memories.

"Draco, be careful." Hermione warned, "These may be fake memories but to Alex they are _very _real. Try not to get caught up in them." The blond gripped his wand tightly, despite knowing he wouldn't need it.

"Granger, this is my little brother. I know these aren't going to be his memories, that they aren't real. That doesn't diminish the fear of what I might find. Someone tampered with his mind and I'm determined to learn who it is."

"At least don't go alone!" Ron protested, "Like she said, they're very real to Alex. Someone's gotta keep you in place. I'll go with you." Draco blinked.

"...Thank you for the offer, Ron, but I think I can handle this myself."

"You're not getting off so easily, Malfoy." Ron grabbed his arm, firm but gentle, and gave Draco a strong look. The blond sighed in defeat, knowing the redhead's stubbornness.

"Just be careful. There's no idea what mad things they put in Alex's head." said George. The two nodded before, after a few hesitant seconds, leaning down to look into the Pensieve.

* * *

_**Notes:**_

**_Vulnera Sanentur is an actual spell in the HP canon, used as the counter-spell to Sectumsempra and a strong healing spell in general._**

**_I'm sorry if it seems like there are OOC moments in this. I had the first half of it written and wrote the rest of it just now. I deliberately chose Ron and Draco instead of Draco with anyone else because of a few reasons and now they're about to see some of what we know if you've ever read the Alex Rider books. That's gonna be a fun ride._**

**_So, I hope you guys like this long-awaited chapter! Please read & review!_**


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